The tightest labor market isn't Silicon Valley

Signal Summary: Indeed's new index says the tightest hiring is in aging New England, not Silicon Valley. Data centers are minting a staffing gold rush while Adecco hands 27,000 employees an AI coworker. Also, one contingent hire told us he could fly.

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HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK ↓

SIGNAL 1
Hardest place to hire? Not where you think

Indeed just scored 800+ local job markets. Turns out "the labor market" is about 800 different labor markets.

Where it's tight:

• Lebanon-Claremont (NH/VT) scored 148.3 against a national 100, with Duluth, MN next at 143.5

• About 30% of New Hampshire's workforce is 55+, versus 23.1% nationally. Retirement is the new competitor.

Where it's slack:

• California and the Southeast are loose for opposite reasons: too little tech demand in one, a supply mismatch in the other

Signal → Strategy: Call employers in New England and Upper Midwest metros and pitch temp-to-hire pipelines for roles retirees are leaving behind. Then source candidates from slack California and Southeast markets to fill those orders.

Go deeper: Indeed Hiring Lab: Labor Market Tightness

SIGNAL 2
Data centers are staffing's new gold rush

Big Tech is building data centers like it's paid by the square foot. Industrial staffing is cashing the check, with 7% growth forecast for 2026, the most of any segment.

The gold rush:

• US data center staffing revenue: $4B in 2025, projected $8B to $10B by 2030

• Alphabet, Amazon and Meta capex is set to jump 91%, mostly for data centers

The catch:

• About 80% of demand is skilled trades. Texas and Virginia hold a third of US capacity.

• Equipment supplier sites are less concentrated, so firms outside the hot spots can play too

Signal → Strategy: Target manufacturers making data center equipment, especially outside Texas and Virginia, and build a skilled trades bench now, before the requisitions pile up. First crew on site wins.

Go deeper: SIA: Data center spending to double over next 2 years

SIGNAL 3
Adecco gives 27,000 employees an AI coworker

Adecco just gave 27,000 employees an AI coworker. CEO Denis Machuel says we're seeing "the biggest redesign of work since the internet." Meanwhile, your team is still copy-pasting between five tabs.

The rollout:

• One interface, 27,000 employees, 40+ countries, covering sales, recruiting and candidate engagement

• Recruiters select candidates and launch pre-screening, recruiter or onboarding agents

The receipts:

• Agentic recruiting already runs in 10 countries generating about 50% of Adecco revenue

• Coworker draws on 2.5M+ AI agent-candidate interactions since April 2025

Signal → Strategy: Pilot one agent this quarter, starting with pre-screening on your highest-volume desk. Track time-to-submit before and after, then sell the results to clients.

Go deeper: SIA: Adecco Group expands AI rollout to 27,000 workers in 40-plus countries

RECRUITING CONFESSIONAL
Passed Every Check, Lasted Two Hours

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

The Setup: We placed a contingent hire who seemed totally normal. He passed the background check and the drug screen. Onboarding was smooth.

The Twist: Two hours into his shift, six cops showed up with a person from the psych ward. He had committed all kinds of crimes, just too recently to appear on a background check.

The Aftermath: He was taken into custody, then called the office later to apologize. He explained he had superpowers, and the government wanted him because he could fly and had superhuman strength. Still no ATS field for that.

Have a story? Submit it here

WEEKLY POLL

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

1. The branch manager in New England or the Upper Midwest who keeps saying "there's nobody out there"

2. The industrial desk lead who thinks data centers are "just an IT thing"

3. The COO who has been "evaluating AI" since ChatGPT launched