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 contract hiring.
Month ending 31 August 2026 Last updated 8 September 2026
Pipeline contracts 6-7% in August
After a very strong July, permanent job orders per head fell 6% in August, putting pipeline back roughly on par with where it was in May and June. This month’s numbers are probably more representative of the long-term trend than the spike in July. However, fill rate rose substantially, jumping 9% this past month, and submissions were down, so key hires are still being made without recruiters having to work unduly hard. The signs point to a relatively typical summer market with employers still eager to move forward with permanent hiring.
The contract side shows a similar pattern, but more extreme. Job orders fell 7% and fill rate only increased 1%. The good news is that fill rate is still rising and submission have actually been declining around 3% per month on average this year. So, again, employers are still filling crucial contract positions and are happy with the candidates presented, but it is worth watching what happens with contract pipeline as the summer comes to an end.
Contract job orders decline 7% in august
Permanent fill rate jumps 9% in August
Recruiter effort continues slow but steady decline
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.
