Weekly Insights

Jun 2, 2026

Retail openings rise 3.4% year over year in May

Retail job openings grew 10.6% from April to May 2026 and posted a 3.4% YoY increase, compared to last May. With summer months ahead and seasonal hiring typically picking up, this momentum is worth monitoring as an early indicator of where retail hiring is headed in the second half of the year.

May 26, 2026

Temporary IT job openings up 22% YoY

Permanent IT job openings held relatively flat YoY, growing just 3% from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. Temporary contracts climbed 22% over the same period, peaking at 59,000 openings in Q4 2025, nearly five times the volume seen a year prior. This aligns with the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator, which shows IT hours continuing to gain momentum. Employers continue to turn to contingent IT labor to meet demand and move projects forward, without committing to permanent headcount.

May 19, 2026

Demand for transportation roles in light industrial is surging

As seen in the SIA | Bullhorn staffing indicator this week, the light industrial sector is booming. Light industrial job openings saw a significant return to growth in April, signaling that this trend is likely to continue. The growth in job openings was largely driven by demand for transportation roles. Delivery driver openings are up 66.7% YoY, while CDL Class A/B Driver demand has jumped 58.2%. Repair and maintenance technicians, critical to keeping fleets and facilities running, are up 16.8%. But the gains stretch well beyond logistics and transportation. Software engineers and sales representatives are up nearly 50% and 44% respectively, pointing to a sector investing in both technology and revenue growth. Even traditional roles like warehouse associates and machine operators are seeing steady gains, signaling broad-based momentum across the segment.

May 12, 2026

Employers seeking critical thinkers, not just communicators

For new grads of 2026, employers are looking for decisive and detail-oriented candidates who can communicate effectively. Attention to detail has seen the sharpest rise YoY, up 9.2%, followed by critical thinking at 7.7%. Decision making and communication skills are also among the top-growing competencies, though at a more moderate pace. Employers are seeking candidates who demonstrate independent thinking and sound judgement, rather than those who are simply strong communicators.

May 5, 2026

Travel nursing openings have been cut in half from last quarter

Healthcare saw a widespread contraction in Q1 2026, with travel nursing leading the decline, as postings fell 46% in a single quarter.. Licensed practical nursing, social worker, and radiology technician openings each dropped 15-19% since Q4 2025. The only exception was physician assistants, down just 3% from last quarter, as they absorb demand while health systems rebalance their workforce away from costly contract labor.

Apr 28, 2026

Fewer openings for new grads in major cities

America’s top grad hiring cities are posting far fewer openings than in recent years. New York remains the clear leader, but openings for new grads are down more than 20% just from Q1 2025, with Chicago seeing a similar decline Boston remains the most resilient with only a 9.4% drop YoY, but no city has been spared. For graduates targeting large metropolitan area, competition for available roles has intensified significantly.

Apr 21, 2026

AI is reshaping the role of the middle manager

As of Q1 2026, 12.9% of all middle manager job openings mention AI-related skills. And that share keeps climbing even as overall hiring cools. This is no longer a niche requirement reserved for tech-adjacent roles; AI literacy is becoming a baseline expectation for management. Even as total AI related job postings have declined from their 2025 peak, AI’s share of all manager openings continues to climb. Employers aren’t pulling back on AI, they’re just hiring less overall. The roles that remain are increasingly the ones that require it.

Apr 14, 2026

Accounting jobs declined compared to 2025

Every major accounting profession posted significant YoY declines, with losses relatively uniform across the board. Accounting clerks led the decline, with over a 30% YoY drop, but even credentialed roles offered no shelter. CPA and auditor job openings were each down over 25%. While AI automation may be accelerating this decline, firms are also doing more with fewer people, and that efficiency pressure is compressing headcount across every level of the organization.

Apr 7, 2026

Light industrial hiring dips at the start 2026

Job postings across manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade fell to 1.48 million in Q1 2026, a modest 2.6% decline from Q4 2025. Warehousing and transportation led the pullback, dropping 17.4% from last quarter. However, manufacturing and wholesale trade were more resilient, with each adding more than 10,000 openings since last quarter and remaining broadly stable year over year.

Mar 31, 2026

Employers seek emotional intelligence and vision

Intuitive traits like reactivity and emotional intelligence surged in Q4 2025, up 49% and 8% respectively, as employers prioritize adaptability and interpersonal awareness. Meanwhile, show courage and non-verbal communication saw some of the steepest drops at -67% and -43%, respectively. Employers are favoring workers who can collaborate effectively in a team and read the room.

Mar 24, 2026

White collar job postings cut in half since 2023

Job openings in finance, IT, and public administration have fallen more than 50% since Q1 2023, though the impact varies by region. New York and Minneapolis were hit hardest, with declines of -69% and -66% respectively, while southern markets like Austin have proven more resilient, down just -36%. A brief mid-2025 rebound across most cities has since reversed,with Q1 2026 confirming the downturn is continuing.

Mar 17, 2026

Internship hiring slows as finance pulls back sharply

Internship hiring has slowed multiple industries since 2023, reflecting a more cautious approach to early-career recruiting. Declines have been particularly pronounced in sectors such as finance, IT, and healthcare; finance and insurance internship openings have dropped nearly 60% from Q1 2023. Finance has historically relied on internships to build pipelines for entry-level analyst roles, making the drop especially significant. Despite the broad pullback, manufacturing continues to offer the highest number of internship opportunities, underscoring the sector’s ongoing need to build skilled talent pipelines.

Mar 10, 2026

Administrative support relies heavily on temporary workers

Employers, wary of economic uncertainty, have been relying increasingly on temporary and other contingent workers to run their businesses, while maintaining the flexibility to quickly scale their workforce up or down if conditions change. But what industries have created the most temporary and contract roles in the first 10 weeks of the year? Administrative support roles dominate by a large margin, but retail, IT, and even education are also turning to contract workers.

Mar 3, 2026

Healthcare hiring is concentrated in clinical roles

Despite mounting burnout and administrative challenges, non-clinical job openings in areas like HR, IT, and management, are down more than 30% since Q2 2022. Meanwhile, clinical job openings across nursing, therapy, and direct care roles are up roughly 5% over the same period, with clinical roles now accounting for nearly two-thirds of healthcare openings. The healthcare sector is focusing on care delivery over infrastructure and securing patient-facing talent.

Feb 24, 2026

Remote roles still represent a significant part of the job market

After peaking at 13% of all job openings Q2 2022, the share of remote roles steadily declined through 2023 and much of 2024, bottoming out at 9% in early 2025. A brief rebound in mid-2025 pushed remote roles higher but the gains have since reversed, with levels still below the 2022 peak. While remote work is no longer expanding at the pace seen during the pandemic, it remains a significant factor for job seekers, pushing employers to balance return-to-office mandates with flexibility.

Feb 17, 2026

Temp jobs have been declining but bounce back in January

Temporary job opportunities are a key part of the labor market and have been declining slightly as a percentage of the job market. In January 2025 temp jobs made up 13% of job listings, but by the end of the year that had fallen to 12%. However, temp job openings increased 6.6% in January, which aligns with January numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that show a jump in temporary jobs.

Feb 10, 2026

IT jobs are increasingly concentrated in established tech hubs

IT job openings declined sharply from 2024 to 2025 in several major cities, including Houston, Charlotte, and Los Angeles, reflecting the slowdown in IT hiring. At the same time, demand rebounded in tech-centric markets like San Francisco, Redmond, and Austin, signaling increased geographic concentration in tech hiring. As we begin to see signs of improvement in the IT space, it remains to be seen how the job gains will be distributed nationwide.

Feb 3, 2026

Lower wage jobs are shrinking as a percentage of job openings

The share of job openings paying under $60k has declined sharply, falling from 87% in 2021 to just over 61% in 2025. Over the same period, roles paying $100k+ have expanded, with openings above $120k growing 5x to nearly 16% of the market. This trend likely reflects both rising living costs and employers focusing on more specialized, experienced roles, rather than entry level positions, continuing the challenging trend for new graduates, as shown in our insight from December 2, 2025. For job-seekers, this highlights the value of upskilling and targeting more specialized roles.

Jan 27, 2026

The introduction of ChatGPT may be shifting in-demand leadership skills

Since ChatGPT’s launch, there has been a noticeable shift in employer expectations for managers. Skills tied to change management and flexibility are increasingly in demand. Organizations appear to be prioritizing managers who can absorb feedback, adapt quickly, and guide teams through ongoing technological change.

Jan 20, 2026

South drives largest increase in healthcare jobs

Healthcare job openings declined year over year across several major metropolitan areas, including New York and Boston. Demand grew faster in Southern markets, with Orlando and Dallas leading the charge. Healthcare hiring was more geographically selective in 2025, with growth concentrating in lower-cost and fast-growing regions, rather than traditional hubs.

Jan 13, 2026

White collar jobs that involve strategic thinking continue to grow

While traditional administrative and support roles are declining sharply year over year, higher-impact leadership, technical, and analytical positions continue to expand and see strong growth. For candidates, this means reskilling opportunities–particularly in data, operations, and strategic functions–can open pathways into faster-growing roles and opportunities.

Jan 6, 2026

Employers continue to rely on part-time workers at year-end

While past years saw sharper drops in Q4, 2025 shows a more gradual decline in part-time job openings. This suggests employers are relying on part-time workers to maintain staffing agility, allowing them to adjust more quickly to shifts in demand.

Dec 16, 2025

AI-related jobs continue to grow by leaps and bounds

Despite a dip at the start of the year, AI-related job openings have nearly doubled in 2025, climbing from 4.75% of all openings in Q1 2025 to 9.24% by Q3 2025. Employers remain focused on roles that require AI fluency and technical skills. And as was shown in our November 4, 2025 insight, this trend extends across occupations and industries.

Dec 9, 2025

White collar jobs disappearing more quickly than blue collar

While both categories saw fewer openings this year, white collar jobs declined nearly 7%, much larger than the 4.6% drop in skilled trade year over year. Even in a cooling market, skilled trades are holding up better, mirroring recent stories about workers moving towards stable and hands-on roles.