Hiring Trends Report: July 2026
New job openings fell 35.2% month over month to 142,290, signalling a sharp slowdown in hiring across all sectors. Construction trades saw the steepest pay gains at 59.9%.
Hiring Volume Drops Sharply
The job market cooled significantly in July 2026. New openings fell to 142,290, down 35.2% from June's 219,565. This is the single clearest signal in the month's data: if the trend holds, expect similar cooling to continue into August.
For job seekers, this means less competition in absolute terms, but also fewer choices. The advice: move faster on applications that fit your skills, and prepare strong materials before you submit.
Pay Surges in Trades and Biotech
Construction & Skilled Trades roles posted the month's biggest salary jump: median pay rose 59.9% to 138,000 USD. Pharma, Biotech & Life Sciences came second at 27.5% growth, landing at 120,000 USD median. Science & Research (18.9%), Business, Operations & Strategy (17.9%), and Design & Creative (17.6%) also posted double-digit gains.
These fields are clearly competing harder for talent despite the overall slowdown. If you have skills in construction, biotech, or laboratory science, now is the time to negotiate: employers are bidding up salaries to fill roles.
Software & Web Engineering, the largest field in our catalogue at 4,068 roles sampled, saw modest growth of 1.8% to a median of 180,000 USD. Security roles grew 4.6% to 170,000 USD. These remain the highest-paid fields, but the flattening growth suggests cooling demand.
Specific Skills and Cities in Retreat
DevOps openings dropped 39% month over month, to 4,130 roles. Node.js fell 37.8% to 1,541. Accountant roles fell furthest at 46.8% decline, leaving 985 openings. Physician roles dropped 34.4% to 3,198.
Geographically, the picture is similar: Singapore lost 62.5% of its openings (1,398 remaining), Montreal dropped 57.5% (492 roles), and Edinburgh fell 53.6% (130). Stockholm and Barcelona also saw sharp declines of 41.8% and 40.7% respectively.
If you work in DevOps, accounting, or are based in these cities, the message is to look wider. Remote and hybrid roles may offer escape: worldwide-remote positions account for 0.4% of the catalogue, and remote or hybrid combined reach 9.1%.
Who's Still Hiring Hard
Despite the slowdown, a few companies are posting aggressively. Centria Autism led with 2,728 new openings, followed by BAYADA Home Health Care (2,124) and Bjak (1,788). Notably, most top hirers are location-based: Centria, BAYADA, Lifestance, Mindrift, and Ouihelp all show 0% worldwide-remote roles. Only Bjak among the top eight is fully worldwide-remote; Carvana offers 19% remote roles.
Healthcare and services remain growth zones even in a cooling market. If you're open to working on-site, these companies are hiring at volume.
What to Watch Next Month
Monitor whether the 35.2% drop in openings continues. If hiring stabilises, roles in Construction, Biotech, and Design will likely remain well-paid. Watch whether DevOps and Node.js openings find a floor or fall further. And pay attention to whether the top hiring companies maintain their pace or scale back.
Remote and hybrid roles account for just 9.1% of all openings. If location flexibility matters to you, be selective and move fast when you find it.
For detailed salary data by field and to search current openings, visit our salaries tool or search live jobs here.
| Field | Median (annual USD) | MoM change | Roles sampled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software & Web Engineering | $180,000 | +1.8% | 4,068 |
| Data, AI & Analytics | $172,500 | +2.1% | 1,262 |
| Security | $170,000 | +4.6% | 369 |
| DevOps, Cloud & Infrastructure | $167,625 | -1.4% | 1,023 |
| Hardware, Electrical & Robotics | $165,000 | +9.1% | 357 |
| Legal & Compliance | $155,000 | +1.5% | 926 |
| Design & Creative | $150,000 | +17.6% | 445 |
| Product & Project Management | $150,000 | +1.6% | 2,153 |
| Science & Research | $146,500 | +18.9% | 202 |
| Programming Languages & Frameworks | $145,000 | +4.6% | 235 |
| Engineering — Other Disciplines | $140,000 | +10.7% | 273 |
| Construction & Skilled Trades | $138,000 | +59.9% | 672 |
| Marketing & Communications | $132,500 | +7.7% | 1,192 |
| Business, Operations & Strategy | $124,800 | +17.9% | 1,781 |
| Finance & Accounting | $120,000 | +9.6% | 760 |
| Pharma, Biotech & Life Sciences | $120,000 | +27.5% | 172 |
| People & HR | $117,000 | +4% | 612 |
| Supply Chain & Logistics | $103,300 | +12.3% | 280 |
| Sales & Customer Success | $102,500 | +12.7% | 4,735 |
| Agriculture, Energy & Environment | $95,375 | -15.2% | 10 |
| Healthcare & Medical | $93,600 | -4.5% | 4,696 |
| Manufacturing & Production | $91,500 | +14.1% | 509 |
| Media, Content & Arts | $90,000 | +15.4% | 274 |
| Government, Non-profit & Social | $88,485 | -3.9% | 378 |
| Health, Wellness & Beauty | $83,200 | +6.1% | 81 |
| Real Estate & Insurance | $70,000 | 0% | 171 |
| Hospitality, Food & Events | $62,266 | +31% | 162 |
| Transportation | $47,840 | -5% | 552 |
| Retail | $47,840 | -13% | 544 |
| Education | $45,750 | -1.1% | 842 |
| Company | New openings | MoM change | Worldwide-remote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centria Autism | 2,728 | +16.8% | 0 |
| BAYADA Home Health Care | 2,124 | +10.8% | 0 |
| Bjak | 1,788 | +175.5% | 1 |
| Lifestance | 1,395 | +2.6% | 0 |
| Carvana | 1,362 | -17.6% | 19 |
| Mindrift | 1,207 | -33.4% | 0 |
| Ouihelp | 1,166 | -21.2% | 0 |
| EquipmentShare | 1,138 | +1.4% | 0 |
Figures are aggregated from active listings on JobsRadar at the time of publication.
Alexei Khachatrian
Founder & Lead Engineer, JobsRadar
I build and run JobsRadar - a free, worldwide job board that pulls listings straight from companies' official hiring boards. More about me →