Employers Confront Slower Job Growth with Selective, Strategic Investment in Key Sectors Including Finance, Healthcare, and Retail

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Talivity, the leading tech-enabled consulting partner for talent strategy, in partnership with Recruitics, the leading AI-powered platform for enterprise talent acquisition, announced the release of the September Talivity Talent Market Index. The report illustrates a labor market entering a new phase of rebalancing, with broad hiring signals softening but targeted competition intensifying for high-skill, strategic, and frontline roles.

Talent acquisition prices show mixed trends, with six of nine sectors reporting monthly increases led by Finance and Retail. Finance Operations prices have climbed for four straight months, but pay now aligns with inflation, signaling market rebalancing as employers and workers adjust compensation expectations.

“Employers are no longer competing across the board – they’re competing where it matters most,” said Mona Tawakali, Chief Strategy Officer at Talivity. “We’re seeing labor pricing diverge: six of nine sectors posted month-over-month cost increases, even as overall job creation slowed. Companies doubling down on Finance, Healthcare, and Retail roles are signaling a clear intent: protecting operational resilience, preparing for fiscal shifts, and meeting consumer-facing demand even in a cooling market.”

Key Sector Insights

- Finance & Operations: Attraction prices rose +8.59% MoM and +52.75% YoY, reaching their highest level ever on the Index. Strategic roles in compliance, FP&A, and transformation leadership are driving the surge, with open roles taking 60+ days to fill in nearly half of organizations.
- Healthcare: Attraction prices are up +22.43% MoM and slightly down -5.76% YoY, reflecting resilience but potential stabilization. Demand remains strongest in ambulatory and home health, while dentists’ offices posted losses.
- Retail: Prices stable, down 6.85% MoM, up 9.68% YoY; sales associate and team member jobs are especially prevalent nationally.
- Hospitality: Prices down 17.05% MoM and down 10.98% YoY due to sufficient labor supply—domestic travel helps sustain demand.
- IT: Up 16.50% MoM, down 19.46% YoY, with limited hiring focused on AI, cybersecurity, and infrastructure expertise.
- Transportation & Logistics: Up 9.68% MoM, stable YoY, reflecting selective hiring for specialized roles.
- Sales: Down 36.83% MoM but up 60.71% YoY, concentrated in strategic accounts and revenue operations.
- Light Industrial: Up 26.32% MoM, down 7.69% YoY, with rural zones still seeing bottlenecks.
- Food Services: Up slightly at 8.06% MoM, stable YoY, with normalized frontline labor supply.

Fourth Quarter

The Index signals a labor market moving into late-cycle dynamics: slower job creation at the macro level but intensifying competition at the high-skill and consumer-facing frontlines. Employers should expect:
- Continued wage pressure in Finance & Ops as retirements and AI adoption accelerate demand for hybrid finance-technology roles.
- Healthcare affordability windows closing, with policy headwinds and VA shortages likely to tighten supply by year-end.
- Retail and Food Services stability heading into the holiday season, with operational efficiency and scheduling clarity emerging as decisive competitive advantages.
- Selectivity in Sales and IT hiring, as organizations prioritize strategic roles over broad expansion.

The Talivity Talent Market Index monitors the prices employers pay to attract talent and provides early signals on supply and demand, offering monthly insights into industry hiring trends.

On September 16 at 1:00 PM ET, Talivity’s Chief Executive Officer Jonathan “JZ” Zila and Chief Strategy Officer Mona Tawakali shared September’s Talent Market Index with a live readout on the findings. Watch the replay at https://Talivity.com/tmi.

About Talivity

Talivity is an AI-powered hiring intelligence platform built for Talent Acquisition leaders who want to move faster and hire smarter. We give you clear guidance on the best recruiting tech, improve how your brand is perceived by candidates, and deliver real-time market insights—from skill trends to pay benchmarks to ad performance. With exclusive data and personalized playbooks, Talivity helps you make confident hiring decisions in a fast-moving market.

About Recruitics

Recruitics is an AI-driven marketing recruitment platform that helps enterprises predict, attract, and convert top talent by turning data into actionable insights and delivering seamless, omnichannel candidate experiences.

Contact:

For Talivity: [email protected]
For Recruitics: [email protected]

Jonathan Zila
Talivity Group, LLC
[email protected]
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