Xcout IntelWhich sectors are hiring more, and which less?
According to Xcout Intel, Real Estate companies stepped up hiring the most: their new job postings rose 76.5% in the four weeks to 1 November 2026 against 10 August – 6 September 2026 (51 companies), followed by Healthtech (+58.1%, 172 companies) and Consumer Cyclical (+49.1%, 50 companies). AI/ML companies cut the most (−23.4%, 84 companies), then Fintech (−10.3%, 139 companies).
| Sector | Companies | First 4 weeks | Last 4 weeks | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate | 51 | 3,248 | 5,734 | +76.5% |
| Healthtech | 172 | 10,381 | 16,409 | +58.1% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 50 | 6,768 | 10,094 | +49.1% |
| Industrials | 49 | 7,416 | 10,776 | +45.3% |
| Technology | 101 | 7,879 | 10,699 | +35.8% |
| Retail | 45 | 4,565 | 5,994 | +31.3% |
| HR Tech | 60 | 1,836 | 2,386 | +30% |
| Healthcare | 113 | 7,310 | 8,541 | +16.8% |
| Energy | 67 | 3,282 | 3,685 | +12.3% |
| Data & Analytics | 67 | 2,155 | 2,363 | +9.7% |
| Consulting | 149 | 9,529 | 10,110 | +6.1% |
| Martech | 41 | 1,128 | 1,164 | +3.2% |
| Financial Services | 77 | 5,918 | 5,946 | +0.5% |
| Cloud Infrastructure | 50 | 1,905 | 1,909 | +0.2% |
| Manufacturing | 69 | 4,135 | 4,110 | −0.6% |
| SaaS | 129 | 3,492 | 3,396 | −2.7% |
| Cybersecurity | 97 | 2,813 | 2,737 | −2.7% |
| E-commerce | 51 | 1,615 | 1,556 | −3.7% |
| Developer Tools | 45 | 1,842 | 1,703 | −7.5% |
| Fintech | 139 | 4,440 | 3,982 | −10.3% |
| AI/ML | 84 | 2,655 | 2,035 | −23.4% |
How we know
Xcout Intel reads the careers sites of a fixed panel of 2,917 companies every week (Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Ashby and other applicant-tracking systems) and counts each role the first time it appears. A company is in the panel if it opened roles in at least 10 of the 12 weeks to 1 November 2026, so the change is about hiring, not about our coverage. A company's sector comes from its Xcout Intel profile.
Full figures: Hiring Pulse. How every report is built: methodology.
What this does not show
- These are new postings at a fixed panel of companies on their own careers sites — not employment, not hires. Recruitment agencies and job boards are left out.
- A sector's figure is the sum of its companies' postings, so one large employer can move a small sector. The number of companies in each group is shown for that reason.
- Hiring Pulse uses two windows: company, sector and country changes compare four-week periods; role families and AI shares compare eight-week windows. The two are not combined in one figure.
How to cite
Xcout Intel, Hiring Pulse, week ending 1 November 2026, intel.xcout.app/answers/hiring-by-sectorQuote with attribution under the licence. These figures update with each edition of the report; give the date above when you quote them.