AI job postings surge while overall hiring tanks

Signal Summary: Companies are scrambling to hire AI-skilled workers while slashing everyone else. Meanwhile, recruiters are ditching online applications for direct sourcing, and 90% of companies firing for AI don’t have the AI ready. Plus, when ‘no relocation expenses’ becomes a red flag.

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^{P.S. I hand-draw all cartoons with an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Procreate.}

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK ↓

SIGNAL 1
AI job postings skyrocket while everyone else gets ghosted

The disconnect: Overall job postings finished 2025 just 6% above pre-pandemic levels. Jobs mentioning AI? Up 134%.

Translation: Companies are hiring, just not for you, unless you speak fluent ChatGPT.

What's happening:

• Tech roles with AI mentions are up 45% while general tech hiring is down 34%

• Marketing AI mentions doubled from 8% to 15%, HR jumped from 4% to 9%

• Data & analytics leads at 45% AI mentions per posting

Signal → Strategy: Target upskilling contracts with existing clients. Package AI training as workforce insurance against the talent shortage they're about to experience when they realize nobody knows how to use the tools they just bought.

Go deeper: Indeed Hiring Lab - AI Jobs Report

SIGNAL 2
Direct sourcing explodes as online applications become a wasteland

The numbers: Recruiter-initiated outreach jumped 72% since 2023, now representing 15% of successful hires. Meanwhile, online applications dropped from 76% to 66% of interviews.

The haystack just got bigger, and nobody can find the needles anymore.

The AI effect:

• Application volumes tripled since 2017 as AI makes everyone's resume perfect

• Tech and manufacturing show highest receptivity to direct sourcing (29% and 20%)

• Referred candidates are 35% more likely to get offers than online applicants

Signal → Strategy: Position your sourcing expertise as the antidote to AI-optimized application spam. Pitch clients on curated talent pools where you've already filtered out the ChatGPT-generated noise they're drowning in.

Go deeper: Glassdoor Research - Direct Sourcing Data

SIGNAL 3
90% of companies firing for AI don't have the AI ready

The question: "Our CEO said we're laying off 20% of staff and replacing them with AI. How do we do that?" Forrester hears this weekly from clients. The answer?

You probably can't, because you haven't even started building it yet.

The reality check:

• 9 out of 10 companies planning AI layoffs don't have mature, vetted AI applications ready

• Most AI layoffs are financially driven cost-cutting with AI as the scapegoat

• Through 2030, work will remain largely human; AI handles tasks and workflows, not complete jobs

Signal → Strategy: Position contingent staffing as the bridge between executive AI fantasies and operational reality. When clients admit their AI replacement strategy failed, you'll already have talent pipelines ready for their inevitable "temporary project needs."

Go deeper: HR Executive - AI Layoff Reality

RECRUITING CONFESSIONAL
When ‘No Relocation Expenses’ Becomes a Red Flag.

Recruiting Confessional A weekly series featuring anonymous stories from recruiting and staffing professionals. Submit yours here.

The Setup: Candidate interviews were going well. Strong technical skills, relevant experience, good cultural fit. Then came his closing pitch.

The Pitch: "I'd actually be cheaper to hire since I won't need relocation expenses. I'll just live in my RV in your company parking lot. Plus, I can work longer hours since I literally live here."

He didn’t get the job…

Have a story? Submit it here

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SHARE THE SIGNALS
3 people you should share these signals with:

1. Your tech recruiter drowning in AI requisitions they can't fill

2. That sourcing specialist still relying on job boards from 2017

3. Your client who just announced AI layoffs without a plan