The Recruitics Talent Market Index offers a fresh perspective on industry talent supply and demand dynamics. It tracks the fluctuating prices of attracting talent through paid advertising across diverse media channels. By focusing on pricing data, the Index complements traditional labor market metrics like job openings and hiring volume, providing a more precise signal of demand for talent, regardless of job posting volume.
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February 2025 Key Findings
Talent Attraction Prices Drop Across All Job Segments in Trump’s First Full Month—But Year-Over-Year Surge Tells a Different Story
- All Sectors were down month over month which is consistent with February Talent attraction prices dropped across all job segments in Trump’s first full month, aligning with seasonal hiring trends typically seen in February.
- Year-over-year (YoY) price increases remain significant across most industries, signaling long-term labor market challenges despite short-term declines.
- Persistent labor shortages continue to impact hiring costs, particularly in healthcare, IT, and finance, where competition for specialized talent remains high.
- Shifting immigration policies and workforce availability are reshaping labor supply, with industries like light industrial and manufacturing.
Segment Analysis
Retail
The month-over-month decline aligns with typical post-holiday hiring slowdowns, but the year-over-year surge in talent attraction prices tells a different story. According to the BLS Jobs Report, Retail trade added 16,000 payrolls in February 2024, whereas this year, the sector lost about 6,000 jobs.
This suggests that while hiring demand has softened in some areas, employers are still facing challenges attracting talent in specific hard-to-fill geographies. The YoY price increase likely reflects a shift in hiring focus, where companies are investing more heavily in securing talent for key locations or specialized roles, rather than broad-based hiring that previously helped drive costs down in less competitive markets.
Healthcare
Talent attraction prices in healthcare have remained relatively stable month-over-month, reflecting consistent hiring trends. However, the 141% year-over-year increase underscores the sustained demand for healthcare workers. According to BLS data, the sector continues to be a major contributor to job growth, with a 12-month average of 54,000 new jobs in 2024 and 52,000 jobs added in February 2025.
This steady expansion highlights the ongoing need for medical professionals, likely driving recruitment prices higher as employers compete for qualified talent in a persistently tight labor market.
Food Services
Food services is the only segment experiencing a decline in talent attraction prices both month-over-month and year-over-year. On the demand side, employment in food and beverage retailers fell by 15,000 in February, largely due to strike activity. Meanwhile, with unemployment rising to 4.1%, the labor market is seeing an increase in job seekers and individuals taking on multiple jobs to manage financial uncertainty.
A recent Advisor Perspectives analysis found that the percentage of people working multiple jobs rose to 5.27% in February—the highest level since July 2009. This shift may be influencing hiring dynamics in food services, where a more available workforce could be contributing to lower prices.
IT & Related
Talent attraction prices in IT & Related remained relatively stable month-over-month, reflecting a consistent hiring landscape. The year-over-year trend, however, continues to tell the same story seen in recent months—organizations are investing heavily in emerging skill sets, particularly in AI and automation.
On the demand side, business services experienced a slight contraction in February, suggesting that while companies are prioritizing specialized tech talent, broader hiring within the sector remains subdued.
Sales
Talent attraction prices in Sales dropped 19.70% MoM, indicating a slowdown in demand or improved applicant availability. The 47.22% YoY increase, however, suggests that long-term investments in sales talent remain costly as companies focus on revenue growth in an uncertain economic climate.
Finance & Operations
Talent attraction costs in Finance & Operations declined 6.32% MoM, likely due to stabilization in hiring needs. Yet, the 97.78% YoY increase highlights a shift toward highly specialized talent as companies invest in financial stability, risk management, and operational efficiencies.
Rebounding Industries: Transportation and Light Industrial
Transportation & Logistics
Employment in Transportation & Logistics continued its upward trend in February, adding 18,000 jobs, aligning with seasonal demand patterns from last year. As compared to peak demand during COVID, this is modest, however the first time we’ve seen consistent growth This growth surpasses the 12-month average of 13,000 monthly job gains, reflecting strong momentum in the Transportation & Logistics sector.
Despite these employment gains, talent attraction prices dropped 27% month-over-month, suggesting less pressure on hiring costs in the short term, even as year-over-year prices remain 80% higher, signaling continued competition for talent in key logistics roles.
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Light Industrial
The Light Industrial sector is about to undergo material shifts driven by immigration policy changes, growing domestic demand, and efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience. These factors are shaping both workforce availability and talent attraction prices, with costs dropping 18.67% month-over-month but still 90.63% higher year-over-year.
The role of immigrant workers remains a critical factor in the sector’s labor supply. In 2017, 5.7% of manufacturing workers were undocumented, and with rising new immigrant entrants to the workforce, that number is likely even higher today. As of 2022, an estimated 2.92 million foreign-born workers were employed in U.S. manufacturing, highlighting the industry's reliance on this labor source. States such as California, Texas, and Illinois, which have both large manufacturing industries and sizable undocumented populations, may feel the greatest impact from shifting immigration policies.
At the same time, reshoring efforts continue to gain momentum. The vulnerabilities exposed in global supply chains during recent disruptions have accelerated the trend of bringing manufacturing operations back to the United States. This shift is reducing dependence on overseas suppliers while strengthening domestic production capacity. Small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) stand to benefit by integrating into local and regional supply networks, allowing for faster turnaround times and greater flexibility in responding to market demands.
Despite advancements in automation and technology, the industry still faces skilled labor shortages, creating challenges in hiring workers to operate and maintain modern production systems. Many manufacturers are prioritizing upskilling initiatives to ensure their workforce can effectively integrate with automation and emerging technologies. Without these investments in training and development, labor shortages could continue to put pressure on wages and talent attraction prices.
While the current drop in talent attraction prices suggests short-term relief for employers, the sustained 90.63% year-over-year increase indicates that labor constraints and rising wage pressures remain a major challenge. As reshoring efforts progress and immigration policies evolve, manufacturers will need to navigate an increasingly complex labor market to maintain productivity and competitiveness.
Employment in the transportation and warehousing industry was at its peak in July 2022.
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