The Indeed Job Postings Index (JPI) recorded +0.7% year-over-year growth as of September 18, 2026, the first positive annual reading in nearly four years, according to the Indeed Hiring Lab's US Labor Market Snapshot published on September 24. The shift ends a stretch of declines that began in late 2022 and gives the broadest available read on US labor demand an inflection point that recruiters, candidates, and employers can now point to.
- Indicator
- Indeed Job Postings Index (JPI)
- Year-over-year change
- +0.7% (first positive in nearly four years)
- Index level
- 103.5 (highest since late March 2026)
- Monthly growth
- +1.5% as of September 18, 2026
- Sectors above pre-pandemic baseline
- 60% (up from 51% in early June)
- Posted wages (year-ending August 2026)
- +2.5% year-over-year
- US unemployment rate
- 4.1% in July 2026
- JOLTS hires rate
- 3.2% in July 2026
The headline number that broke almost four years of declines
Indeed's monthly Job Postings Index, which tracks listings across the United States, climbed back above its year-ago level for the first time since the slide that began in late 2022. The +0.7% annual reading for September 18 is small in absolute terms, but it ends a stretch of negative year-over-year comparisons that had only deepened through the second half of 2024 and into 2025.
The Indeed Hiring Lab separates the level of the index from its year-over-year change for a reason. The index value itself, 103.5 as of September 18, is the highest reading since late March and sits about 3% above the pre-pandemic baseline. The turning point is in the comparison to the year before, which has finally crossed above zero.
Monthly momentum is more positive still. Labor demand on Indeed grew 1.5% over the month through September 18. New postings, which track listings seven days old or newer, sit at 94.0, about 6% below the pre-pandemic baseline. The combination of a flat-ish new-postings line and an improving total index suggests that openings are sticking around longer even as companies add fresh ones.
A broader and more unequal expansion under the surface
The recovery is not just a top-line story. As of September 18, 60% of occupational sectors tracked by Indeed had postings above their pre-pandemic baseline, up from 51% at the start of June. That widening matters because it reduces the chance that a handful of hot categories are carrying the average.
Wages, however, are not moving in step. Posted pay rose 2.5% over the year ending August 2026, according to the snapshot. Higher-paying occupations have done most of the lifting, with annual advertised wage growth accelerating from 2.0% in January to 2.6% in August. Posted wage growth in low- and middle-wage occupations has moved sideways over the same period.
For a software engineer or data analyst watching advertised pay, that gap suggests that premium skills and seniority, not general demand, are driving the strongest compensation signals. Workers in roles traditionally paid near or below the median are seeing less of the pickup in advertised wages.
Why the labor market can still feel frozen even with the index turning
A positive year-over-year reading on postings does not, by itself, fix the hiring experience for either side. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for July showed a hires rate of 3.2%, a level that, outside pandemic lockdowns, has only been reached during the slow recoveries of 2009 to 2011. The quits rate sat at 1.9% and the layoff rate at 1%.
The US unemployment rate held at 4.1% in July, down from 4.5% at the end of 2025. The Hiring Lab cautions that a shrinking labor supply makes it mathematically harder for the rate to increase, so a 4.1% reading today does not describe the same churn as it did in earlier cycles. Translation: openings exist, but matching into them takes longer than it would in a more dynamic hiring market.
For candidates, the practical meaning of this snapshot is that the directional signal has changed, not the short-term experience. Time to fill is likely to extend a little, comp offers on premium roles are pushing higher, and roles that previously sat open for months are coming back to requisition load lists. For employers, the early read is that the four-year contraction in US labor demand has run its course, and the next two quarterly JOLTS prints will say whether the +0.7% becomes a trend.
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Indeed Hiring Lab — US Labor Market Snapshot — September 2026 is the source to consult for the underlying data, statement, ruling or live context.