HÜNT · Monthly hiring report
Who's hiring: September 2026 hiring report (estimate)
Estimate, not a measurement. Job changes reach résumés with a delay, so the panel is measured through April 2026. Figures for September 2026 extend each employer's hiring percentile by its recent trend; the range is shown in brackets. The report is updated when September 2026 is measured.
Estimate for September 2026: we ranked 475 US employers by estimated hiring pace, extending job changes measured through April 2026 by their recent trend. Salesforce sped up the most, +5 pts in its estimated hiring percentile in a month, while Moderna slowed the most, -5 pts. Over 12 months, Waters gained the most: +52 pts.
Key takeaways
- Estimated hiring pace rose at Salesforce by +5 pts to the 86th percentile in September 2026.
- Information Technology supplied 5 of 10 companies that sped up, including Micron Technology at the 98th percentile.
- Moderna slowed by -5 pts to the 15th percentile, while Consumer Discretionary supplied 3 of 10 companies that slowed.
- Waters led 12-month gains at +52 pts and reached the 100th percentile among 475 employers.
- Materials supplied 3 of 10 12-month drops, led by Celanese at -54 pts.
Sped up hiring in September 2026
Salesforce led the listed monthly accelerations with +5 pts, reaching the 86th percentile, while GoDaddy and U.S. Steel each rose +4 pts. Information Technology accounted for 5 of 10 entries, with Micron Technology at the 98th percentile; the remaining entries covered 4 other sectors, including unclassified employers.
Change in hiring percentile from Aug 2026 to Sep 2026.
| # | Employer | Sector | Change, 1 mo | Hiring percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salesforce | Information Technology | +5 pts | 86th (83–92) |
| 2 | GoDaddy | Information Technology | +4 pts | 79th (70–89) |
| 3 | U.S. Steel | — | +4 pts | 68th (54–78) |
| 4 | Meta | Communication Services | +3 pts | 56th (51–63) |
| 5 | Micron Technology | Information Technology | +3 pts | 98th (92–100) |
| 6 | Equifax | Industrials | +3 pts | 56th (50–62) |
| 7 | F5 | Information Technology | +3 pts | 66th (61–72) |
| 8 | Gap | — | +3 pts | 53rd (49–60) |
| 9 | Labcorp | Health Care | +3 pts | 78th (71–85) |
| 10 | Corning | Information Technology | +3 pts | 58th (52–66) |
Slowed hiring in September 2026
Moderna recorded the largest listed monthly decline at -5 pts and stood at the 15th percentile. Consumer Discretionary supplied 3 of 10 slowed employers, while Health Care and Materials each supplied 2 of 10; the other 3 entries came from Financials, Communication Services and Industrials.
| # | Employer | Sector | Change, 1 mo | Hiring percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moderna | Health Care | -5 pts | 15th (8–17) |
| 2 | Everest | Financials | -4 pts | 26th (17–31) |
| 3 | Genuine Parts | Consumer Discretionary | -4 pts | 21st (11–31) |
| 4 | LyondellBasell | Materials | -3 pts | 35th (29–40) |
| 5 | Carnival | Consumer Discretionary | -3 pts | 42nd (36–48) |
| 6 | Norwegian Cruise Line | Consumer Discretionary | -3 pts | 39th (31–49) |
| 7 | Teleflex | Health Care | -3 pts | 54th (48–60) |
| 8 | Live Nation Entertainment | Communication Services | -3 pts | 46th (35–54) |
| 9 | United Rentals | Industrials | -3 pts | 37th (27–46) |
| 10 | Freeport-McMoRan | Materials | -3 pts | 36th (27–47) |
Biggest gains over 12 months
Waters led the listed 12-month gains at +52 pts and reached the 100th percentile, followed by U.S. Steel at +49 pts and Ball at +45 pts. The list covered 6 sectors, with unclassified and Information Technology each supplying 3 of 10 entries; Financials, Health Care, Materials and Communication Services each supplied 1 of 10.
Change in hiring percentile from Sep 2025 to Sep 2026.
| # | Employer | Sector | Change, 12 mo | Hiring percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waters | Health Care | +52 pts | 100th (97–100) |
| 2 | U.S. Steel | — | +49 pts | 68th (54–78) |
| 3 | Ball | Materials | +45 pts | 78th (71–86) |
| 4 | Salesforce | Information Technology | +44 pts | 86th (83–92) |
| 5 | Meta | Communication Services | +41 pts | 56th (51–63) |
| 6 | Micron Technology | Information Technology | +41 pts | 98th (92–100) |
| 7 | GoDaddy | Information Technology | +41 pts | 79th (70–89) |
| 8 | Gap | — | +40 pts | 53rd (49–60) |
| 9 | Coinbase | Financials | +38 pts | 88th (79–98) |
| 10 | Nielsen | — | +37 pts | 58th (55–63) |
Biggest drops over 12 months
Moderna led the listed 12-month declines at -63 pts, followed by Discover Financial at -55 pts and Celanese at -54 pts. The list covered 7 sectors, with Materials supplying 3 of 10 entries and Industrials 2 of 10; Health Care, unclassified, Consumer Discretionary, Financials and Communication Services each supplied 1 of 10.
| # | Employer | Sector | Change, 12 mo | Hiring percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moderna | Health Care | -63 pts | 15th (8–17) |
| 2 | Discover Financial | — | -55 pts | 19th (10–23) |
| 3 | Celanese | Materials | -54 pts | 21st (12–39) |
| 4 | Genuine Parts | Consumer Discretionary | -52 pts | 21st (11–31) |
| 5 | Air Products | Materials | -51 pts | 14th (6–19) |
| 6 | CSX | Industrials | -48 pts | 20th (10–31) |
| 7 | Everest | Financials | -43 pts | 26th (17–31) |
| 8 | Live Nation Entertainment | Communication Services | -40 pts | 46th (35–54) |
| 9 | LyondellBasell | Materials | -37 pts | 35th (29–40) |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | Industrials | -34 pts | 26th (20–33) |
By sector
Real Estate had the highest sector median hiring percentile at 71st, while Consumer Discretionary had the lowest at 35th. Financials, Information Technology, Utilities and Communication Services were the 4 sectors with median 12-month rises; the other 7 sectors had median declines, including Energy at -9 pts and Materials at -7 pts.
| Sector | Employers | Median percentile | Median change, 12 mo | Fastest hirer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate | 14 | 71st | -4 pts | Federal Realty Investment Trust (96th) |
| Financials | 60 | 60th | +2 pts | Arthur J. Gallagher (97th) |
| Information Technology | 66 | 58th | +2 pts | NVIDIA (99th) |
| Utilities | 12 | 51st | +2 pts | Exelon (84th) |
| Industrials | 70 | 49th | -4 pts | Honeywell Aerospace (100th) |
| Energy | 17 | 48th | -9 pts | Murphy Oil (97th) |
| Consumer Staples | 29 | 48th | -7 pts | Kraft Heinz (95th) |
| Health Care | 55 | 45th | -2 pts | Waters (100th) |
| Communication Services | 22 | 40th | +1 pt | Fox (89th) |
| Materials | 17 | 39th | -7 pts | Smurfit Westrock (100th) |
| Consumer Discretionary | 59 | 35th | -3 pts | H&R Block (96th) |
Sectors with at least 5 employers in the report.
Questions and answers
Which US companies sped up hiring the most in September 2026?
By estimated change in hiring percentile over one month: Salesforce (+5 pts, now in the 86th percentile), GoDaddy (+4 pts, now in the 79th percentile) and U.S. Steel (+4 pts, now in the 68th percentile).
Which US companies slowed hiring the most in September 2026?
By estimated change in hiring percentile over one month: Moderna (-5 pts, now in the 15th percentile), Everest (-4 pts, now in the 26th percentile) and Genuine Parts (-4 pts, now in the 21st percentile).
Which companies gained the most hiring momentum over the 12 months to September 2026?
Waters (+52 pts, now in the 100th percentile), U.S. Steel (+49 pts, now in the 68th percentile) and Ball (+45 pts, now in the 78th percentile), by change in hiring percentile since September 2025.
Which sector is hiring fastest in the US in September 2026?
Real Estate: its median employer is in the 71st hiring percentile, and the fastest hirer in the sector is Federal Realty Investment Trust. The slowest sector is Consumer Discretionary, with a median in the 35th percentile.
How is the hiring percentile calculated?
From job changes in public résumé histories over a rolling 36-month window, not from job postings. Each employer is ranked by hiring pace among all employers in the panel: 0 is the slowest, 100 the fastest. Only employers with enough observed job changes are ranked, and the data is updated monthly.
Is the September 2026 report measured or estimated?
Estimated. Job changes reach résumés with a delay, so measurements run through April 2026. Later months extend each employer's hiring percentile by its recent trend, with a range shown next to it. When September 2026 is measured, this report is updated with measured figures.
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Data: HÜNT Workforce Panel · résumé history · updated monthly · data through April 2026 · Methodology