The 2026 recruiting benchmarks report is almost here

We analyzed 165 million applications and 1.2 million hires to show you how recruiting has fundamentally changed—and where your team stands.

In this report, you’ll find:

• Hiring volume and market trends: How hiring has rebounded 8.3% year-over-year after two years of contraction, yet remains 30% below 2021 levels.

• Team capacity and workload: Teams are 14% leaner than in 2021, while recruiters handle 93% more applications and manage 40% more open roles.

• Pipeline conversion rates: Only 0.5% of applicants are hired, making it harder for candidates to land roles. Yet, offer acceptance rates hit 82%—the highest since 2021—signaling candidates commit when the right opportunity comes along.

• Interview rigor and time-to-hire: Interviews per hire are up 33%, with technical roles averaging 35-36 interviews and 26 hours of interviewer time per hire.

• Source channel performance: Job boards and company marketing generate 90% of applications but account for only 50% of hires. Meanwhile, relationship-driven channels significantly outperform: referrals convert at 11x the rate of inbound applicants, internal mobility at 32x, and direct sourcing at 7x.

• Customized benchmarks for your organization: Industry, company size, location, and department-level data so you can see exactly where your team stands relative to relevant peers.