Job postings fell sharply across major global markets in the first quarter of 2026, with India coming out comparatively resilient on employment even as its postings fell 22% year-on-year, according to analysis published by Bain & Company based on its AuraSM platform data.
France recorded the steepest year-on-year decline in postings at 25%, followed by the United States at 23% and India and the Netherlands both at 22%. The UK, Canada, Japan and Italy fared better, posting declines of between 7% and 11%. Despite the sharp drop in postings, actual employment levels have remained comparatively resilient across most markets, Bain noted.
Sector cuts were sharper than market cuts. Internet-sector job postings fell more than 50% year-on-year in the first quarter, the sharpest drop of any sector Bain tracked. Financial services postings were 28% lower. Human resources and staffing functions proved more resilient, contracting by 7% and 12% respectively, while general and administrative functions were down 10%. Bain cautioned that its Aura platform tracks job postings across online hiring channels and may underrepresent sectors with high levels of informal or offline recruitment, including agriculture, construction and domestic services.
