Job Activity: January 2026
Posted by EDI Staffing on February 05, 2026
As a smaller, relationship-driven agency, we value transparency with our staff, clients, and candidates. It’s what builds trust and helps everyone move forward with confidence. That’s why we share these monthly reports – to provide a clear view of where we’re seeing the most job activity and where talent is making the biggest impact. Reflecting on our first month of 2026, our clients are easing into the new year with overall volume picking up.
Here’s the job activity our team experienced during January:
Top States
Recruitment spanned 17 states last month, with NC, PA, and NJ showing the highest concentration of our team’s job activity…
- NC: 13%
- PA: 18%
- NJ: 10%
- VA: 10%
- CA: 6%
- AR: 4%
- IL: 4%
- MA: 4%
- MN: 4%
- AZ: 2%
- CT: 2%
- GA: 2%
- IN: 2%
- MD: 2%
- NY: 2%
- SC: 2%
- TX: 2%
Remote Flexibility
January saw a slight increase in remote work, more than doubling from last month…
- On-site: 56%
- Hybrid: 23%
- Remote: 25%
Industry Breakdown
January hiring efforts were led by the Manufacturing & Industrial industry, with Retail & Consumer Goods in close second. While IT remained the leading department for hiring activity, many roles in January were tied to supporting manufacturing operations rather than standalone IT initiatives…
- Manufacturing & Industrial: 37%
- Retail & Consumer Goods: 35%
- Food & Bev: 10%
- Supply Chain & Logistics: 10%
- IT: 6%
- Healthcare: 4%
- Finance: 2%
Top 10 Skills
The most sought-after skills by our clients continued to be largely technical and specialized…
- EDI
- SQL
- ERP systems
- Accounts Payable
- API
- Cloud platforms
- Business Analyst
- Manufacturing
- Project Management
- Programming
Hiring by Department
Our team saw the most activity across IT teams in January….
- IT: 48%
- EDI: 15%
- FIN/ADM: 13%
- HR/REC/Sales: 10%
- MANF/WARE: 10%
- Engineering: 4%
Takeaway
January showed pickup in overall job activity. As we move further into 2026, these insights help us and our clients stay informed about where talent demand is strongest and which skills are driving impact. By sharing this data, we aim to support smarter hiring decisions and strengthen the connections between our candidates, clients, and team.
Looking to find work or hire talent? Get in touch with our team here.