What July’s trends reveal about hiring demand and the skills employers are seeking
The summer hiring surge drove growth across most sectors, but what’s behind that growth reveals important shifts in where opportunities are emerging. Healthcare hiring jumped 10%, while retail and hospitality grew 9%, driven largely by gains in hospitality. While these increases align with typical seasonal patterns, year-over-year comparisons tell a different story. Technology, in particular, saw its first meaningful pullback of the year, signaling a shift in where job opportunities are concentrated.
What employers actually want in candidates has also changed noticeably, signaling how the market is evolving. The shift in what employers prioritize opens new possibilities for how staffing leaders approach sourcing and placement.
Where hiring is concentrated
Technology job openings declined 1% in July, marking the first pullback in this sector after months of being a consistent bright spot. For staffing leaders, this signals a potential shift in one of the market’s strongest sectors.
Manufacturing and construction job openings remain 20% above July 2025 levels, substantially outpacing every other sector with consistent year-over-year strength. That puts both sectors ahead of the others in year-over-year growth.
Healthcare job openings grew 10% in July, following typical summer hiring patterns, and were 3% higher than July 2025. Retail and hospitality saw a similar seasonal increase, with open roles in retail and hospitality up 9% from June to July.
What employers actually want shifted noticeably in July
Employers are now prioritizing character traits like friendliness and trustworthiness. Passion, attitude, and work ethic rank higher now, while analytical skills and problem-solving dropped.
For staffing leaders, this means reframing how you position candidates. When a candidate has strong character traits and work ethic, emphasize those strengths even if there are technical skills gaps. Employers are willing to invest in training hard skills if the person demonstrates the in-demand soft skills.
Large organizations expand their hiring share
Organizations with more than 50,000 employees increased their hiring by 4% in July, while mid-sized firms with 50-199 employees decreased theirs by roughly the same amount. Large employers now represent a bigger share of overall job openings than they did in July 2025.
Reading the shift from June to July
What’s emerging in July is a market where employers are becoming more pragmatic about hiring. They are putting more weight on character traits like friendliness, trustworthiness, and work ethic alongside technical qualifications, creating opportunities to consider candidates who may not match every requirement on paper.
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