The Readout
The jobs market, explained plainly · Powered by TalentHubiQ
Based on June + July 2026
Government jobs data
Released Sep 1, 2026
The Big Picture
Here is the short version. Companies are still posting jobs: about 7.3 million open roles nationwide in July. But they are filling fewer of them. For every 100 open jobs, only about 70 people were hired in July, down from 74 in June and well below the pre-pandemic normal of about 82. At the same time, people are staying put. In engineering, consulting, and scientific services, the number of workers quitting to take a new job fell to its lowest level in 13 years, apart from the 2020 pandemic months. Then in September, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, which usually makes companies more careful about adding people. The good news is real, though. Healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and retail are all hiring harder than they were a year ago. This month, your field matters far more than the national headline.
The Readout is published by TalentHubiQ, a STEM candidate intelligence firm. We help professionals cut through the noise, position themselves accurately, and get in front of the right opportunities. Find your field below to see what the data means for you specifically.
The 5 Questions Everyone Is Asking
Nationally, the jobs are there but the hiring is slower. About 278,000 fewer people started a new job in July than in June, a 5% drop in one month. Open jobs actually ticked up slightly. That combination means companies are posting roles but taking longer to fill them. Layoffs are not spiking: new unemployment claims are still low at around 202,000 a week. And the Fed's September rate increase adds a reason for employers to move carefully this fall. If you are in healthcare, construction, manufacturing, or retail, the market is better than a year ago. If you work in an office-based professional field, expect a slower, more selective process.
Getting better: healthcare openings are up 11% from a year ago, manufacturing openings are up 36%, retail is up 27%, and construction hired 15% more people in July than in June. Getting harder: engineering and consulting hired 17% fewer people in a single month. That one field accounted for about two-thirds of the entire national hiring drop. Tech job postings are a third below last year, and tech hiring was the slowest for a July since 2012. Finance hired fewer people than in any July on record. Hospitality openings are down 19% from last year.
The best signal for salary leverage is how often people in your field quit for a better job. When they quit a lot, employers have to pay more to hire and keep people. Right now that picture is split. Engineering and consulting quits are down 32% from last year, the lowest since 2013 outside 2020. Tech quits are down 25%. In those fields, employers are under less pressure to raise offers. Meanwhile healthcare quits are up 8%, retail quits are up 32%, and construction quits are up 57% from last year. Workers there are moving, and employers are competing for them. One nuance for everyone: when almost no one in your field is leaving, a current employer is more likely to fight to keep you if you do get an outside offer.
In July, about 70 people were hired for every 100 open jobs. That is among the slowest paces of the past two years and sits well below the pre-pandemic normal of about 82. In plain terms, jobs are staying open longer before someone gets hired. Healthcare, construction, and skilled manufacturing remain on the shorter end of search timelines. Engineering, consulting, tech, and finance are on the longer end. In engineering and consulting specifically, more people were laid off in July than quit, which has now happened in six of the last nine months. That means more job seekers competing for each opening in that field.
The answer this month depends almost entirely on your field. Where hiring is slowing and workers are staying put, a good offer in hand is worth more than a better one you are hoping for. Where openings are climbing and workers are moving, you have room to push.
Take a solid offer. Hiring dropped 17% in one month and the Fed just raised rates. Negotiate the details that are easier to win right now, like start date, title, signing bonus, or remote days, rather than walking away over base salary.
Take a solid offer. Postings are a third below last year and July hiring was the slowest in 14 years. If you have specialized skills in AI, security, or cloud, you still have some room to negotiate. For generalist roles, lock it in.
Negotiate with confidence. Openings are up 11% from last year and healthcare workers are quitting more, which means employers are competing for you. Hold out for an offer that reflects today's market.
All three are stronger than a year ago. Manufacturing openings are at a two-year high, construction hiring jumped 15% in a month, and retail workers are switching jobs more often. Reasonable to negotiate. Take a fair offer when it appears.
The Numbers in Plain Sight
Find Your Industry
Tech job postings came in at 123,000 in July, a third below July of last year. About 73,000 people were hired into tech jobs, the fewest for any July since 2012. The good news: layoffs came back down to last year's level (36,000), so the wave of cuts that ran through the spring has eased. But tech workers are also quitting 25% less than a year ago. The market has slowed on both sides at once: fewer people being let go, and fewer people being hired.
If you are employed in tech, the immediate layoff pressure has cooled. If you are searching, expect a slower market with fewer postings to apply to. The roles that do open fill through referrals and direct outreach more often than job boards. Because so few tech workers are leaving their jobs, there is less churn creating new openings behind them.
- Referrals first: with postings a third below last year, a warm introduction is often the only way in
- If employed: layoff pressure has eased; do not leave a job before you have an offer in hand
- Specialized skills (AI/ML, security, cloud): still where the demand sits; lead with specifics
- On salary: be realistic for generalist roles; specialists still have room to negotiate
TalentHubiQ helps tech and data professionals get in front of the right opportunities, including the ones filling through referrals and direct pipelines.
About 900,000 people were hired in this field in July, 188,000 fewer than in June. That single field made up roughly two-thirds of the entire national drop in hiring. Workers are also holding on to their jobs: quits fell to 401,000, the lowest since early 2013 outside 2020. More people are now leaving these jobs because they were let go (435,000) than because they chose to leave. That has happened in six of the last nine months.
Two things are true at once. If you are employed, the job you have is worth more to hold until you have a signed offer, because the replacement may take longer to find than you expect. If you are searching, more of your competition is people who were laid off, so each opening is drawing a bigger pool. Standing out comes down to how clearly your application shows you can do this specific job, not how many applications you send.
- Do not quit before an offer: hiring slowed sharply in July and the Fed just raised rates
- Quality over volume: tailored applications to fewer, better-fit roles outperform mass applying
- Referrals matter more: with bigger applicant pools, a known name clears the first screen far more often
- On salary: research current benchmarks; negotiate start date, title, or bonus if base is firm
TalentHubiQ helps engineering and consulting professionals show hiring managers exactly why they fit the role, before the shortlist is set.
Finance companies still have about 300,000 open jobs, only 8% fewer than last July. But they hired just 104,000 people, the fewest for any July since the government began tracking this in 2001, and 42% below last year. Finance workers are also quitting 16% less than a year ago. The roles are posted, but companies are filling them slowly and selectively.
Finance spent most of this year as a steady, quiet market. It has now shifted into a slow-hiring phase. Expect longer interview processes, more rounds, and more candidates per role. Quantitative, data, and risk skills remain the most durable positions. The September rate increase tends to hit rate-sensitive areas like fintech and lending first.
- Plan for a longer process: openings are posted but filling slowly; budget extra time
- Quant / data / risk: still the strongest demand area; lead with quantitative results
- Fintech and lending: most exposed to the September rate increase; move carefully
- If employed: this is a market to move from strength, not out of frustration
TalentHubiQ helps finance and data professionals present their experience so it clears a more selective bar.
Healthcare had about 1.44 million open jobs in July, up nearly 4% from June and 11% from a year ago. It is the largest pool of open jobs of any field in The Readout. Healthcare workers are also quitting 8% more than last year, one of the few fields where that number is rising. The long-term driver has not changed: demand from an aging population keeps growing faster than the workforce.
If your skills translate into healthcare, this is still the best job market in the economy. Rising quits mean employers are competing for workers, which strengthens your position on pay and schedule. For tech or data workers facing a slow market in their own field, health informatics remains one of the strongest moves available.
- Clinical roles: strong negotiating position; demand keeps outpacing supply
- Health informatics / data: growing demand, and a strong landing spot for tech workers
- On salary: one of the few fields with real leverage; benchmark to current offers, not last year's
- Take your time: you can afford to be selective about fit and schedule
TalentHubiQ helps healthcare and clinical informatics professionals stand out in a high-demand market.
Construction openings rose to about 326,000 in July, the highest since August 2024. Hiring jumped nearly 15% in a single month. Layoffs are down 21% from last year, and workers are quitting 57% more often than a year ago, a sign they feel confident enough to switch for a better job.
Construction is one of the healthier markets right now. More openings, more hiring, and fewer layoffs is a good combination for job seekers. The one thing to watch: the Fed's September rate increase makes borrowing more expensive, which tends to slow new housing projects a few months later. Commercial and infrastructure work is usually less sensitive to rates than residential.
- Skilled trades and project management: demand is rising; this is a good window to move
- Commercial and infrastructure: more stable than residential as rates rise
- On salary: workers are switching jobs more; you are negotiating from strength
- Rate watch: residential activity may cool three to six months after the rate increase
TalentHubiQ helps construction and project management professionals present their experience in a way that gets responses, not just submissions.
Manufacturing openings jumped to about 580,000 in July, the highest in two years and 36% above last July. But hiring fell 13.5% in the same month, so companies are posting jobs faster than they are filling them. The ISM Manufacturing index, a monthly survey of factory purchasing managers, showed an eighth straight month of growth in August, though its hiring measure cooled slightly.
When openings climb while hiring falls, employers are struggling to find the people they need. That is a good position for qualified candidates, especially in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, semiconductor, and automation roles. This is one of the better moments in two years to test the market, and one of the few places where you can push on pay.
- Advanced manufacturing / aerospace / semiconductor: openings are outrunning hires; test the market now
- Supply chain and operations: steady demand as factory activity keeps expanding
- Automation and CNC: scarce skills with structural demand
- On salary: employers struggling to fill roles have room to move on offers
TalentHubiQ helps advanced manufacturing and aerospace professionals get in front of the right opportunities while demand is running ahead of supply.
Retail had about 731,000 open jobs in July, the highest in two years and 27% above last July. Hiring is up 10% from a year ago, and layoffs are down 19%. Retail workers are quitting 32% more than last year, which usually means they are finding better offers elsewhere.
Retail is hiring steadily heading into the holiday season. Workers moving between jobs gives you room to negotiate, especially for management roles. Digital, e-commerce, and analytics skills remain the most valuable to bring into retail and the ones that lead to the strongest long-term careers.
- E-commerce / digital operations: where the strongest career growth sits; lead with these skills
- Consumer analytics: steady demand regardless of store traffic
- Store and district management: a good window to test the market ahead of the holidays
- On salary: workers are switching often; you have room to ask
TalentHubiQ helps retail and consumer professionals translate digital and analytics experience into the language hiring managers are looking for.
Hospitality openings fell to about 783,000 in July, the lowest in two years and 19% below last July. Layoffs are up 23% from a year ago, and workers are quitting 20% less. For a field that normally runs on constant turnover, that is a meaningful slowdown.
Hospitality has usually been the field where you could leave one job and find another quickly. That is less true right now. If you are employed, it is a better time to hold your position than to leave without something lined up. Operations, scheduling, and customer experience skills transfer well into retail management, logistics, and healthcare administration, all of which are hiring more strongly.
- If employed: line up the next role before you leave; openings are down 19% from last year
- Management and revenue management: still where the stronger pay sits
- Adjacent moves: retail management, logistics, and healthcare operations are hiring harder right now
- Seasonal roles: holiday hiring in retail can be a bridge while hospitality is soft
TalentHubiQ helps hospitality professionals position their operations and service experience for roles in fields that are hiring more strongly.
What the Government Terms Actually Mean
The data tells you where the market is. We help you navigate it.
TalentHubiQ helps STEM and professional candidates cut through the noise. Resume positioning, fit analysis, and profile intelligence, built for professionals who want to know exactly where they stand before they apply.
All data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), June 2026 release (USDL-26-1289, August 4, 2026) and July 2026 release (USDL-26-1432, September 1, 2026). Tech and finance figures compare the same month a year earlier. ISM Manufacturing PMI: Institute for Supply Management, August 2026 report. Federal Reserve: FOMC statement, September 16, 2026. Numbers presented without political interpretation. We explain what the data says. You decide what to do with it.
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Issue 06 · September 2026