Live job-market intelligence across 11 metros and 11 sectors, with the core question front and center: how long until you hear back after applying. Benchmarks refresh weekly; live postings refresh daily.
Updated every Monday at 6:00 AM. Most recent entry on top.
Pulled daily from the Adzuna jobs API. Salary bands come from the postings sampled; employers and posting dates are from the latest pull.
A daily snapshot, not an exhaustive count.
Hands-on, credentialed "care & build" work is resilient; AI-exposed white-collar work is contracting. The same fault line runs through geography.
The median wait for a first response is 6.7 days (middle 50%: 4.5–8.1). But roughly three in four applications get no reply at all.
Median days to first response. Late spring fastest; Q4 slowest.
Solid markers (May, Jun, Oct, Nov, Dec) are source-reported; other months interpolated. Source: Careery Research 2025.
Of 100 applications submitted in 2026 …
Careery 2025 + The Interview Guys 2025 Ghosting Index. "Heard back" includes rejections and invitations.
National 6.7-day median scaled by each metro's applicant pressure.
Modeled, not measured per-city — anchored to the 6.7-day national median (dashed) and adjusted by documented local market conditions. Directional only.
Average time-to-hire is up 24% since 2021 (33 → 41 days) as teams run more interviews against record applicant volumes.
Days from application to accepted offer (2025).
SmartRecruiters 2025 (global, all roles). See methodology on definition differences.
Why responses and offers take longer.
Gem 2025 Recruiting Benchmarks.
Healthcare added 680,500 jobs while federal government shed 330,000. Select a sector for a full profile.
Thousands of jobs, establishment survey.
100 = February 2020 baseline (Indeed Hiring Lab).
High openings + low hires = demand employers can't fill. Government barely hires.
Select a sector for postings, momentum, supply/demand, and the mid-level read.
Unemployment runs 3.4% (Austin) to 5.1% (Chicago) — but the headline hides the story. DC's postings sit 35% below pre-pandemic; Seattle's ~23%. Select a metro.
Color = YoY direction. Dashed line = U.S. 4.3%.
Lower-left = candidate-favorable. Upper-right = distressed.
Y-axis: market-balance score (1 = severe employer's market → 5 = strong candidate's market).
Select a city for unemployment, posting trend, top sectors, frictions, and notable employer moves.
The South has the most open jobs; hiring rates are even across regions (~3.0–3.1%). Hiring hit a post-2020 low in February before ticking up in March.
Seasonally adjusted rates, % of employment.
Thousands, seasonally adjusted.
BLS JOLTS. Monthly figures are revision-sensitive.
Six distinct failure modes reshaping regional hiring in 2026.
~56,000 jobs lost in 2025 (96% federal); federal base −14.3%, total nonfarm −1.7% — worst of any major metro. Postings index 65, lowest in the nation.
Capital booms, headcount doesn't. SF lost ~4,400 jobs in 2025 (Information −4%); ~40,000 Bay Area tech layoffs. Seattle WARN notices hit 14,850, +72% over 2024.
NIH/NSF cuts triggered biotech layoffs — 745 in Q1 2026, 51,165 across 99 firms 2025–26. Kendall Square lab vacancy ~17% (vs 0.4% in 2021).
Demand outruns local talent. Memphis logistics needs thousands against ~200 supply-chain grads/yr; KC's mega-projects strain skilled trades. Candidate-favorable — if you have the skills.
Mid-career (5–19 yrs) is the highest-risk tech demographic. Postings requiring 5+ yrs rose 37%→42% since 2022 while AI absorbs junior tasks. 51% of employers rate the market "fair/poor."
Both run two markets: oversupply of generalist devs alongside acute AI/infra/security shortages. Austin adds grid constraints (18–24 mo interconnection delays).