Trades Now Harder to Fill Than Tech Jobs, Retirees Returning to Work, & New Unemployment Data

One of the job market's longest-standing assumptions just got flipped. A new Randstad analysis of more than 150 million job postings found that skilled trades roles now take longer to fill than software developer positions, and the demand gap is accelerating. Robotics technicians, HVAC engineers, and industrial automation specialists are among the fastest-growing roles in the entire labor market, driven largely by the physical infrastructure AI requires to function. Host Pete Newsome breaks down what that means for job seekers, career changers, and the broader conversation around trades versus college.

He also covers a new Indeed Flex survey showing nearly one in three retirees are working or open to returning, with 63% citing inflation as the primary driver and 74% saying their view of retirement has fundamentally changed in the past five years. Pete makes the case for why employers struggling with part-time and hourly hiring should be actively recruiting this overlooked talent pool.

On the confidence front, ZipRecruiter's Q1 2026 Job Seeker Confidence Index came in at its highest reading since 2022. Pete goes beneath the headline number to give a more complete picture of what job seekers are actually experiencing right now.

And fresh unemployment claims data dropped this morning from the Department of Labor. Pete shares what it signals about where the labor market stands heading into the new month.

Articles:
1. Randstad USA Data: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-demand-for-skilled-trades-grows-3x-faster-than-professional-roles-302725636.html
2. Job Seeker Confidence Index: https://www.ziprecruiter-research.org/job-seeker-confidence
3. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/ui-claims/20260572.pdf
4. Indeed Flex Survey: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inflation-reshapes-retirement-as-63-of-seniors-cite-cost-of-living-as-driver-for-returning-to-work-302724236.html

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Transcript

Today’s Workforce Headlines

Pete Newsome 0:00

Welcome back to Cornering the Job Market. Today's workforce news and headlines include new job seeker confidence data showing the most optimistic reading we've seen in years. We'll talk about what that actually means for people looking for work right now. Also, there's a new survey revealing why a growing number of retirees are heading back into the workforce. We'll get into that. And I'll also share the latest unemployment claims that were released this morning from the Department of Labor.

Skilled Trades Hiring Times Surge

Pete Newsome 0:24

But first, it now takes longer to hire an electrician than a software developer. That's according to a new Randstat analysis of more than 150 million job postings between 2022 and 2026. The average time to hire for skilled trades workers has hit 56 days, while for desk based professionals, it's 54. The demand numbers tell why when you dig into those. Robotics technicians' vacancies are up 113% over that period, HVAC engineer demand is up nearly 78%, and industrial automation roles are up 51%. And then there's general trades, which are electricians, welders, construction specialists, those are all up 30% on average, which is significantly outpacing the broader job market. What's driving this is AI infrastructure construction. Or as Randstad's chief economist officer put it, somewhat ironically, I think, AI can't build data centers, upgrade power grids, or maintain its own infrastructure. So think about that. We can't use AI to build the data centers that will allow AI to replace people. So we need people to build the things that will replace people. Okay, let's just focus on good news while we have it. But really, this isn't all good news because the math in the space just isn't favorable. It hasn't been for a while and it's getting worse. In manufacturing, which leads a lot of these skilled trades roles, there's only a hundred young workers entering the workforce in that sector for every 102 who were leaving, and that's an annual decline of almost 2% of that pipeline. So we have demand growing three times faster than professional roles, time to hire is already longer than office jobs, and now there's a shrinking pipeline of younger workers coming in. So interesting times ahead in that space for sure.

Job Seeker Confidence Jumps

Pete Newsome 2:12

The next story shows us that JobSeeker Confidence is heading in the right direction. If you're surprised to hear that, you're not alone. I was when I read this survey. It's ZipRecruiter's Q1 2026 JobSeeker Confidence Index. It was released this morning. It came in at 99.8, which is the highest rating since 2022, and it's up 2.9 points from Q4. That's based on a survey of more than 1,500 job seekers. It was conducted in February. This is an index that comes out every quarter. I look forward to seeing how it changes. And I was not expecting it to go in a positive direction, but we'll take it. On expectations, 73.5% now expect the same number or more jobs over the next six months, and that's up from 60.5 in Q4, which was a historic low. That's a meaningful bounce back. And almost 55% received at least one job offer, which was up from only 48.5% in Q4. So positive numbers there. We're seeing more people get offers. That's a good thing. So the headline numbers are encouraging, but it's not quite as positive once you dig beneath the surface. 39.5% of job seekers say the lack of relevant opportunities is their biggest challenge. And 14.3% report no confidence at all in finding a job that matches their skills. Now that's not a high percentage, but what's alarming is that's up from only 8.8% last quarter. So that is something that's certainly heading in the wrong direction. So the jobs are there, but they're just not the right jobs. ZipRecruiter's labor economists said job seekers are cautiously optimistic that conditions for the job search will continue to improve, even as many feel the current market lacks relevant opportunities. Optimism is a bit of a stretch since the survey also showed that nearly 70% of job seekers felt compelled to accept their first offer because they were worried about whether there will be a next one. All the good news seems to come with a caveat lately, doesn't it? I I don't want that. I don't mean for that to happen, but I have to report what's there and not just look at the headlines. The headlines always catch your attention, but when you dig a little bit beneath, it's just lately it's just not as positive. So

Unemployment Claims Stay Low

Pete Newsome 4:22

let's see if that continues with the unemployment data that was released this morning. Weekly claims continue to hold at historically low levels. The Department of Labor reported 210,000 initial jobless claims for the weekending March 21st. Now that is up from 5,000 a prior week, but the four-week moving average actually moved down slightly. So that's a good thing. Also, uninsured employment fell to 1,819,000, which is down 32,000 from the previous week, and it's the lowest level since May 2024. The bottom line here is that although we've seen a lot of household names announcing layoffs, they don't seem to be impacting the market overall. They remain relatively contained. And this data shows us that the people who are losing jobs are finding new ones relatively quickly. I say relatively because that needs to be applied here. Uh because there's nothing to suggest that the labor market is declining, at least not significantly, and that's good, although we need it to improve. Make no mistake, this is not overall good news, but it's not bad either. And considering all of the external factors that are happening right now, that's almost a win because things could be trending significantly worse, and it wouldn't have surprised me if they did. So that's where we are with unemployment for this week. We're about to enter the new month, and we'll see some new monthly numbers come out. And I always look forward to reporting on those. So stay tuned. Um, in the next two weeks, we'll have some interesting data to share for sure. But finally,

Retirees Return For Flexible Work

Pete Newsome 5:49

for today, nearly one in three retirees are working or open to flexible jobs, and inflation is the reason that most of them are coming back, which uh is disappointing to see. That is unfortunate to see. But I don't know about you, but I'm not surprised to see that inflation, despite what we see, is certainly impacting. Well, it seems like it's impacting everything I do, everywhere I go lately. But all this is according to a new Indeed Flex survey of retirees that found 63% cite increased cost of living as the primary driver for returning to work. 32% say their savings aren't enough. 74% say their view of retirement has changed in the past five years. And they're not looking for full-time roles. The majority want fewer than 20 hours a week. That's good at least, or somewhat better than then going to work full-time. They're primarily uh primarily looking for retail, freelance consulting, hospitality, and delivery driver positions. So it's unfortunate that they have to do that at all. But it's not purely financial, according to Indeed Flex's CEO, who said many retirees are not looking to return to traditional full-time roles. They are seeking flexible opportunities that provide supplemental income, social connection, and a renewed sense of purpose. So that social connection and sense of purpose, that makes sense. I get it. A lot of people retire and they don't have a whole lot to do, and this gives them a purpose and something to spend time on and making human connections. I mean, all that makes sense to me. And I wish that were the only reason, but we know that the financial strain is there too. Also, this survey showed us that there's a gender gap going on, and I see that reported in all of our data lately. Our own internal survey showed that from Q1. We'll be reporting on that when uh Q2 was released. We're going to be running that survey next week, actually. But it showed that savings for women were considerably less than they are for men, and that's showing up in this data too. Although our survey was working professionals, the retirees are experiencing the same thing. No surprise that this has been going on uh for many years. But in the survey, the women cite cost of living at a higher rate, 69% compared to 53% of men, with the reason they're uh the reason they're going back to work. So here's the thing. If you're an employer struggling to fill part-time, hourly, or seasonal roles, look at these people. Please consider them. How fun would that be to have retirees around with mixed with your younger crowd? Everybody would love that, right? All these generations working together, five generations working together at once. That's a good thing. We should promote that. Um, I know I'd like some more seasoned folks around uh my team and share their knowledge and experience. But that's what's showing uh in the headlines today.

Fun Fact And Quick Goodbye

Pete Newsome 8:43

Thank you for listening. Here is your fun fact before we go. I am gonna try to not mess this up. But there is something called the Zygernik effect. I think that's how it's pronounced. Don't shoot me if it's not. But the Zygernik effect is why you can't stop thinking about unfinished tasks. Your brain apparently remembers them better than the finished ones. Well, that's because you still have things to do, right? That shouldn't be such a weird thing to think about. And that's not even a fun fact. That just bothers me and makes me think of all the things that I still need to finish. So I'm gonna say goodbye and go do those now. Thank you for listening. Please like and subscribe. I would appreciate that. Share with anyone you think might be interested. They would appreciate that. So that's it for today. Talk to you tomorrow.