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Reading the monthly job-market data for your search
Our monthly data describes the open postings on employers' own career pages. Used well, it helps you choose where to look. Used as a forecast of your odds, it misleads. This guide shows the difference.
The short answer
- The data is a large sample of postings (335,906 from 7,678 employers in October 2026), not a count of every vacancy or hire.
- Use it to compare places, industries and roles on pay listed, posting age and remote share. Do not use it to predict your chances.
- Always read the posting itself for pay, level and location.
What we count, and what we do not
| We can tell you | We cannot tell you |
|---|---|
| How many postings an employer has open on its own career page | How many people are hired, or how many people apply |
| How often postings list a pay range, and the middle of those ranges | What offers actually come in at |
| How long postings have been open | Whether a posting is "fake" |
| The share that are remote, entry level or senior | Whether a remote role is open in your state, until you read it |
A walk-through
Say you are choosing between two large metro areas. New York has 12,642 postings from 1,485 employers, and Chicago has 5,914 from 845. 65.6% of the postings in New York list pay, against 46.2% in Chicago. A larger count does not mean it is easier to find a job there: it can mean a bigger market, or more employers in our data. Pay shares tell you whether you can compare ranges before applying. Then open the metro pages and read the posting detail.
- Choose the question. Where should I look? How much do roles pay? How long do postings stay open?
- Pick the measure that answers it, and read its definition on the methodology page.
- Compare places or industries of similar size. Counts scale with size, so use shares and medians.
- Check the sample. The pages show how many postings and employers each figure rests on.
- Read real postings, then decide.
Where to go next
- Rankings · Compare metro areas · Industries
- How long postings stay open
- How to read a posted pay range
Source: Second Summit, October 2026, from the open postings on employers' own career pages. Methodology
Browse open jobs by role and city, with the pay employers list and who is hiring.