September 30, 2026
The Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index shows inflation-adjusted hourly earnings power of individuals starting a new job dipped 0.1 percent in August 2026, to $22.98. The index is up a scant 0.3 percent from one year ago but remains below its peak this past February. After rising earlier in the summer, hiring volume dropped sharply in August, down 1.4 percent from July.
Nonetheless, hiring volume remains 3.3 percent higher than in August 2025. Adjusting for population growth, hiring rates are still up 2.1 percent from last year’s record low but fall short of the pre-COVID baseline by 8.6 percent. Although hiring may not be deteriorating much (yet), it is not picking up, either.
Starting this month, the NHQI release will be shortened, presenting changes and trends in the overall wage and volume indices but not featuring the regular, additional analysis of selected demographic groups. Full demographic breakdowns will continue to be available through the interactive database.
You can find those breakdowns, and plenty of other information about the state of hiring, at upjohn.org/nhqi.