Are job orders going up or down? And what does it take to fill them? Each month, Bullhorn tracks key indicators from our proprietary data to reveal changes in the global hiring landscape. Check in at the start of every month for the latest trends in permanent and temporary hiring.
Month ending July 31, 2026 Last updated August 4, 2026
Permanent job orders hold steady in July
After a slowdown in the late spring and rebound in June, temporary job orders held steady in July, increasing slightly less than 1% compared to June. Average fill rate was also essentially unchanged in July, after stalling in May. Recruiter effort crept up 3.5% in spite of the stable pipeline. That being said, temporary job orders are still up 5% compared to the same time last year, and fill rate is still well above where it was in 2025.
Permanent job orders were down -1% from June, putting them 4% above where they were in July 2025. The average fill rate for permanent positions dropped by -5%, though fill rate remains 8% above where it was last year. And, as with temporary placements, recruiter effort rose slightly this month.
The signals may suggest a deceleration in the rapid growth the staffing market has been seeing so far this year. It will be crucial to see if this trend continues beyond this month.
Perm job orders fall behind 2025
Temp job fill rate still 8% ahead of 2025 levels
Recruiter effort rising slightly
Methodology
Hiring outlook metrics were calculated from Bullhorn ATS data for customers that have opted in to share aggregated data. Customers were qualified as professional or commercial if the majority of their placements were within these industries. Temporary/contingent placements are those with a set end date; permanent/direct hire placements are those without.
Jobs orders per recruiter is calculated as the volume of job order records created divided by the unique number of users within the calendar month.
Job fill rate is calculated as the proportion of job order records that were placed within 90 days of their open date. This is a trailing indicator that covers jobs created three calendar months prior to the period.
Submissions per job order is calculated as the volume of client submissions divided by the volume of job orders in the period. This metric represents records created in the previous calendar month.
