Job Postings Data
Job postings and employee data reveal company plans and labour market trends. Learn the main sources, how investors read hiring signals and the data's limits.
When companies plan to grow, they hire; when they expect trouble, they freeze hiring or cut jobs. Job postings data captures these decisions in near real time by tracking millions of listings on company websites and job boards. Investors use it to spot companies expanding into new products or regions, detect slowdowns before they appear in results and track the overall labour market ahead of official reports. Employee review and headcount data add further clues about company health.
Types of labour data#
| Data | What it shows | Example sources |
|---|---|---|
| Job postings | Number, type and location of open roles | Company career pages, job boards, aggregators |
| Job descriptions | Skills and technologies sought | Text analysis of listings |
| Headcount estimates | Employee counts over time | Professional networking profiles |
| Employee reviews | Morale, management ratings, outlook | Review sites |
| Layoff trackers | Announced job cuts | WARN notices, news, layoff databases |
| Official statistics | JOLTS openings, payrolls, claims | Government agencies. See Employment Data and Non-Farm Payrolls |
Company level signals#
- Rising postings in specific areas: a company hiring many AI engineers, salespeople in a new country or factory staff may be preparing a launch or expansion.
- Hiring freezes: a sharp drop in postings can signal weaker demand or cost cutting before results show it.
- Mix of roles: a shift from engineering to sales may signal a product reaching commercialisation.
- Employee sentiment: falling review scores and rising departures can precede operational problems.
Macro uses#
| Indicator | Signal |
|---|---|
| Total postings on major job sites | Labour demand, often ahead of official job openings data |
| Postings by sector | Which industries are expanding or contracting |
| Wage data in postings | Wage pressure, linked to inflation. See Inflation |
| Layoff announcements | Early warning for jobless claims and unemployment. See Recession Indicators |
Job board operators such as Indeed have published postings indices that economists use alongside the official JOLTS report, which is released with a lag of more than a month.
Limits and pitfalls#
| Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Postings are not hires | Some listings stay open for months or are never filled |
| "Ghost" or evergreen postings | Roles posted to collect resumes rather than fill specific jobs |
| Duplicates | The same job on many sites |
| Coverage | Smaller firms and some industries post less online |
| Changes in recruiting practice | Shifts to referrals or recruiters reduce public postings |
| Mapping to companies | Subsidiaries and brands must be linked to the right ticker |
Using labour data in research#
- Track changes, not levels, compared with a company's own history.
- Compare with peers in the same industry.
- Combine with other data, such as web traffic and card spending. See Web Traffic, App Downloads and Search Trends.
- Test predictive value for revenue or returns before relying on it. See Signal Discovery.
Frequently asked questions#
How do investors use job postings data?#
To detect company expansion or slowdown, new product plans and labour market trends before they appear in official reports or results.
Are job postings a good indicator of the economy?#
They are a timely gauge of labour demand, but postings do not always equal hires, so they work best combined with other data.
What are the limits of job postings data?#
Postings may remain open without hiring, duplicates and ghost listings inflate counts, and coverage varies by industry and company size.
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