The Hiring Pulse, 13 October 2026: Retail recruitment expands as healthcare posts contract

Daily brief, October 13, 2026

Retail postings expanded by 10.5% over the past week led by major chains, while the global stable panel index held flat on Tuesday at 98.79.

• According to the Arihaan crawl, open roles in retail grew by 16,481 like for like over the week to 13 October, driven by Target adding 6,458 openings and Advance Auto Parts adding 4,982.
• The global stable-panel index closed at 98.79, unchanged on the day and down 1.2% from the 26 September base, reflecting steady overall posting volumes after early October lows.
• Several employers recorded substantial contractions, with ICON reducing postings by 808 roles to 188, while Bristol Hospice LLC dropped by 373 vacancies to leave 1 open role.
• Across geographic markets, Canadian like-for-like openings rose 6.4% or 4,695 roles over seven days, while the United States recorded a 1.2% increase with 17,139 added openings.
• Official data from BLS JOLTS shows US job openings fell to 7.08 million in August, while the BLS Current Population Survey recorded unemployment at 4.2% in September.

Chart of the day

Like-for-like open roles across retail employers grew to 172,884 on 13 October 2026 from 156,403 a week earlier.

More reports

• Education and training vacancies concentrate in childcare and schooling
• The Hiring Pulse, 21 October 2026: Retail hiring expands as global index stabilises
• Australian hiring softens as service demand anchors volume
• The Hiring Pulse, 20 October 2026: Media and corporate recruiters scale back hiring

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