Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving down the level of job postings worldwide, despite being one of the most in-demand skills categories for new hires.
The global job market saw a decline in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, with job postings down by 2.3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). This suggests that employers adopted a more cautious hiring approach. amid economic uncertainty and rapid AI adoption.
These are among the key findings of the Job Analytics Database of GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s report, Global Hiring Activity Trends & Signals – Q2 2026, reveals that AI, big data, and cybersecurity remained the top tech themes for Q2 2026 job postings. GenAI and machine learning were the top AI themes for the quarter, while the US and India led global GenAI job postings.
Sherla Sriprada, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Job postings increased marginally in the US as well as in the UK. In the Netherlands, job postings grew, supported by steady economic expansion, rising household expenditure, and increased public spending. North America was the only region where onshoring rose, with employers shifting a greater share of postings to domestic roles while share of job postings outside region shrank.”
Job postings declined across most industries, with automotive, packaging, and oil & gas being the exceptions. The increase in automotive job postings was likely driven by new model launches and electric vehicle expansion. Packaging and oil & gas also recorded marginal growth in job postings.
On the other hand, retail and technology industries continued to post the highest number of job postings during the quarter.
Meanwhile, office productivity applications were the top tech skills, followed by human resource and payroll applications, and enterprise social networking and collaboration platforms.
Sriprada concludes: “The decline in job postings indicates selective hiring environment, with employers increasingly balancing external recruitment against workforce optimization, productivity improvements, and greater use of automation.”