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 30 April 2026 Last updated 5 May 2026
Contract job activity up 10% year over year
Contract job orders have been slowly but steadily increasing since the beginning of 2026, up 2.6% for the year, and almost 10% compared to the same time last year. Fill rate fell significantly last month after a big jump in March and is 3% below where it was in 2025. However, fill rate has risen 2% since the beginning of the year, so there may be some signs of acceleration in the market. And recruiter effort increased slightly this month, but in line with the increase in job activity. Though it is worth noting that submissions per job order are 4.4% higher than last year, so it is getting a little harder to fill jobs even if the speed of placement is improving.
Permanent job activity declined 4% this month, but we saw a similar pattern last year followed by a recovery in May. And job orders are more than 11% above where they were in April of 2025. Fill rate was unchanged this month, and has been largely stable since last fall other than during the holiday season. Permanent coverage rates crept up this month, likely due both to seasonal factors and recruiters submitting more CVs for the jobs they do have.
Permanent job orders down 4% in April
Contract fill rate down 10% this month
Recruiter effort rising year over year
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.
