Hays reported a 3% decline in first-quarter like-for-like net fees as permanent hiring remained weak (this was largely driven by a 7% fall in fees for permanent hiring), although the company said trading trends had stabilised and cost reductions were progressing. Temporary and contracting net fees fell 1% in the three months to 30 September, while permanent recruitment fees declined 7% as fragile conditions in Northern Europe offset stronger activity in North America and parts of Southern Europ...

Canada: Canadian employment falls by 68,300 last month amid public sector decline, more than erasing previous job gains this year as the trade war with the U.S. drags on. The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.5% in September from 6.4% in August, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. The job loss reflected a decrease in public sector employment, which fell by 70,000. Education led the decline, with 35,300 fewer people working the sector. Employment also fell in healthcare and social assistance b...

UK: Permanent hiring hits 4-year high in September, temp billings up. UK permanent placements climbed for a second straight month in September, pushing the index to a four-year high, according to the latest Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. “The permanent jobs market is revving its engine, with a second successive month of growth,” Maxine Bligh, Interim CEO of the REC, said in a press release. “The last time we saw a sustained run of growth in per...

US: Travel nurse staffing revenue is poised to rise 2% this year — following three years of declines after the Covid boom — to $14.3 billion amid stronger demand and increased strike activity. Travel nursing, which ranks as the largest component within healthcare staffing, exploded in 2021 when revenue surged 162%, followed by a 49% increase in 2022. The segment gave back some of the gains in 2023, when revenue fell 36%. That was followed by additional declines of 41% and 17% in the next two ye...

Employers posted 272,040 new openings for IT occupations in September. Active job postings climbed to 625,633, the highest total in more than three years. Compared with September 2025, new IT job postings increased 16% and active postings rose 22.4%, reflecting sustained employer demand for workers with IT skills.1 Sixteen of the 20 industries tracked by CompTIA recorded month-over-month increases in tech job postings. While demand for tech talent increased across the broader economy, employme...

US: Employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, around two-thirds of the average monthly gains of 45,000 over the last year. Downward revisions for prior months now estimate that the labor market lost 10,000 jobs in July, and while adding 133,000 in August. The sectors that did see growth include those with primarily highly-skilled, hands-on roles. Healthcare added 17,000 jobs in September, primarily in ambulatory care and hospitals, though growth was still weaker than the average 33,000 ave...

Staffing hours are up 7%, and opportunities open for contingent labor Bullhorn Staffing Indicator for the week ended September 5 shows US staffing hours up 7% year over year, with the overall index at 103. Industrial led the way with a 12% YoY gain, driven by manufacturing clients and data center investment. Professional rose 6%, IT gained 3%, and office/clerical dropped 7% YoY. Globally, agency job postings climbed 5% year over year in Q3, but North America only added 2%. Europe grew 9%, and ...

US companies added 90,000 jobs in September, another sign that the economy may be picking up. Private-sector payrolls rose by 90,000, the most in three months, according to ADP Research data released Sept. 30. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 75,000 increase. Education and health services jobs accounted for more than half of the gain. The leisure and hospitality, construction and manufacturing sectors also posted healthy job growth. Source: https://www.staf...

2026 Talent Trends Report by Bullhorn Key takeaways: Two-thirds of candidates have worked with a chatbot, and they report that the best part of the experience was getting an immediate response instead of waiting endlessly for feedback. And of the 57% who had been interviewed by an AI voice agent, 92% found the agent to be as good as or better than speaking to a live person – even better than last year’s 88%. The job market has been tough these last few years, and candidates are feeling it. H...

What’s Happening to Talent Acquisition Careers? (2026 edition) New BLS data shows that the talent acquisition profession is now shrinking, but the overhang from the COVID era is getting smaller. https://www.ere.net/articles/whats-happening-to-talent-acquisition-careers-2026-edition

U.S. Demand for Skilled Trades Grows 3x Faster than Professional Roles Scaling AI requires vast physical infrastructure and it's now more difficult and time-consuming to hire an HVAC professional and an electrician than a software developer. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-demand-for-skilled-trades-grows-3x-faster-than-professional-roles-302725636.html

Kforce revenues grew 3% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2025, momentum continues into the Q1 2026 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kforce-reports-fourth-quarter-2025-210200792.html

ManpowerGroup reports improving stabilization in market trends. “2026 is currently trending towards an important inflection point for the business, with a clear path toward sustainable organic revenue and margin growth,” the company reported in its earnings presentation. https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/manpowergroup-reports-improving-stabilization-in-market-trends