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 January 31, 2026 Last updated February 3, 2026
Temporary recruitment showing positive signs
Permanent job orders saw a sizeable uptick in January as is true most years, but permanent jobs per recruiter remain down 5% year over year. And fill rates have stabilized after a strong surge in the fall of 2025, but remains up substantially over the last 2-3 years. So, critical jobs are still being filled without a huge increase in recruiter effort, we just are not seeing the increase in job activity that would really signal a recovery. This all points to a picture of continued caution on the part of employers, particularly with respect to permanent hiring.
Temporary activity has shown more positive signs entering 2026. Job orders are up slightly compared to January of last year, and even higher when compared to January 2024. Fill rates have been trending up for the last three years and continue to outpace permanent. Employers are filling temp roles quickly and, based on submissions, with the same or less recruiter effort as earlier in the year. Overall, these metrics point to a positive trend in temporary placements, potentially signalling improving employer confidence and a stronger temporary pipeline.
Temporary job orders up year over year
Temp job fill rates up 3% year over year
Recruiter effort is largely stable in January
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.
