By Katie Merritt, Senior Research and Data Manager, Robert Half
Economic uncertainty continues into the first half of 2026. While the job market is expected to see gradual improvements, challenges remain. The labor market isn't seeing massive layoffs, but companies also aren't expanding their hiring plans significantly. That can make it harder for unemployed workers to find jobs, with the number of people searching for work for more than 27 weeks jumping 33% year over year to 1.9 million in December, government data shows.
The BLS reports that the U.S. only added 50,000 jobs in December 2025. Still, Robert Half’s workplace research shows most employers in the United States entered 2026 in a hiring mode. Six in 10 managers (60%) at companies of all sizes said they plan to add new permanent positions to their workforce in the first half of this year.
This post takes a deeper dive into research behind the latest edition of the Demand for Skilled Talent report, highlighting key industries expected to recruit talent in the first half of 2026 and the jobs expected to be in high demand.
What Industries Are Hiring Right Now?
What are the industries with the most job openings?
Mirroring last year's performance, the business and professional services, manufacturing and distribution, financial services, healthcare and consumer products industries saw the strongest job growth in the second half of 2025. These industries are poised to expand their employment opportunities throughout the first half of 2026 as well, according to Robert Half’s research.
Together, these five industries contributed over 1.1 million new positions to the U.S. economy in the first half of 2025 (+1,142,900 jobs). Here is a deeper dive into hiring trends in industries with the most job openings.
Business and professional services hiring trends
Across 2025, the business services industry posted a 4.0% unemployment rate. This industry also had the most job openings in the second six months of 2025 (+648,100 jobs) compared with all other industries that Robert Half supports with our talent solutions.
Thirty-four percent of job openings in business and professional services were in tech and IT, 26% were in administrative and customer support, and 24% were in finance and accounting.
Here’s a look at some of the top jobs U.S. employers were recruiting for in the second half of 2025:
Tech and IT
Software engineer (+60,100 jobs)
Systems engineer (+9,300 jobs)
Network/Cloud engineer (+9,100 jobs)
Systems administrator (+9,100 jobs)
Administrative and customer support
Administrative project manager (+39,200 jobs)
Customer service specialist (+27,300 jobs)
Administrative assistant (+23,700 jobs)
Receptionist (+11,100 jobs)
Finance and accounting
Tax manager (+8,900 jobs)
Senior accountant (+8,700 jobs)
Staff accountant (+8,500 jobs)
Business analyst (+8,400 jobs)
Accounting specialist (+6,500 jobs)
Consumer products hiring trends
Consumer products was the fifth-largest industry contributing to the job market in the second half of 2025, with 89,300 openings. Administrative and customer support roles made up 55% of the new professional openings within this industry, totaling nearly 50,000 jobs. Prominent roles in the consumer products space included:
Customer service specialist (+25,500 jobs)
Software engineer (+5,500 jobs)
Customer service manager (+4,900 jobs)
Administrative assistant (+2,300 jobs)
Customer experience specialist (+2,300 jobs)
Education services hiring trends
Universities and educational organizations recruited talent for 39,700 job openings in the United States in the second half of 2025. Most roles were in administrative and customer support (39%), followed by finance and accounting (21%), and tech and IT (20%). The unemployment rate in education services in 2025 was 2.8%. In the second six months of 2025, the most in-demand jobs in this industry included:
Administrative assistant (+5,300 jobs)
Executive assistant (+1,300 jobs)
Software engineer (+1,300 jobs)
Administrative project manager (+1,000 jobs)
Financial services hiring trends
Employers in the financial services industry posted 137,800 jobs in the second half of 2025, a 16% increase over the same period in 2024. Year-over-year growth was strongest among jobs within marketing and creative and finance and accounting departments.
In this industry, 38% of the jobs were in tech and IT, while 28% were in finance and accounting, and 20% were in administrative and customer support departments. The unemployment rate for financial services was 2.3% in 2025. The most in-demand tech and IT jobs in the financial services industry included:
Software engineer (+19,000 jobs)
Data engineer (+2,100 jobs)
Full stack developer (+2,000 jobs)
AI/ML engineer (+2,000 jobs)
The most in-demand finance and accounting jobs in the financial services industry included:
Loan processor (+2,800 jobs)
Senior financial analyst (+2,100 jobs)
Business analyst (+1,900 jobs)
Senior business analyst (+1,700 jobs)
Government and public sector hiring trends
Government and public sector employers added 28,000 jobs in the U.S. in the second half of 2025, a 23% decrease from 2024. Most openings were in administrative and customer support (38%), followed by finance and accounting (28%) and tech and IT (18%). The most in-demand jobs in this sector included administrative assistants (+4,000 jobs) and customer service specialist (+1,200 jobs).
Healthcare hiring trends
Among the professional roles that Robert Half places in the healthcare industry, there were close to 126,000 new job openings added in the U.S. in the second half of 2025. The bulk of these jobs were administrative (40%) including:
Medical receptionist (+15,600 jobs)
Medical administrative assistant (+10,400 jobs)
Medical front desk coordinator (+8,100 jobs)
Customer service specialist (+6,700 jobs)
Office manager (+6,400 jobs)
Patient access/services specialist (+4,400 jobs)
Medical biller (+3,400 jobs)
Executive assistant (+3,100 jobs)
Manufacturing hiring trends
The manufacturing industry added more than 140,700 new job openings in the U.S. during the second half of 2025. These jobs were primarily in companies’ tech and IT (34%), administrative and customer support (31%), and finance and accounting (19%) departments.
In-demand roles in this industry, which saw an unemployment rate of 3.5% in 2025, included:
Software engineer (+16,300 jobs)
Customer service specialist (+16,200 jobs)
Administrative project manager (+6,100 jobs)
Customer service manager (+4,600 jobs)
Systems engineer (+3,800 jobs)
Product support specialist (+2,000 jobs)
Procurement manager (+2,000 jobs)
Tech and IT hiring trends
After a sluggish few years marked with layoffs at major tech companies, the technology industry was relatively stable the second half of 2025 compared to the same time in 2024. Companies in the technology sector primarily hired for technology (48%) and marketing and creative (20%) roles.
The following technology and marketing and creative roles were in especially high demand in the tech and IT industry:
Software engineer (+13,800 jobs)
Customer service specialist (+2,500 jobs)
Product marketing manager (+2,400 jobs)
Administrative project manager (+2,300 jobs)
Product manager (+2,100 jobs)
Data engineer (+1,800 jobs)
AI/ML engineer (+1,700 jobs)
IT product manager (+1,500 jobs)
Network/cloud engineer (+1,300 jobs)
Systems engineer (+1,100 jobs)
Cybersecurity engineer (+1,100 jobs)
Get more insights in Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report
View the report
As to the question, “What industries are hiring right now?” The answer is many. However, Robert Half’s research for our Demand for Skilled Talent report suggests many employers will likely struggle to meet their hiring goals in the months ahead. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. hiring managers report finding skilled talent is more challenging compared to a year ago. AI is adding pressure, with 65% reporting challenges from AI-generated applications. AI-generated resumes are complicating the hiring process in the following ways:
Additional steps to validate skills
Increased applications from unqualified candidates
Difficulty identifying authentic resumes
More time spent verifying credentials
For tips on how to overcome hiring challenges in the current labor market, plus more data on U.S. hiring and employment trends in 2025, read the full Demand for Skilled Talent report.
Methodology
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Industry calculations are based on job postings provided by Textkernel. Positions are categorized into more than 425 job titles within Robert Half’s 2025 Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, human resources, and healthcare support professions.
