Job Activity: September 2026
Posted by EDI Staffing on October 08, 2026
As a smaller, relationship-driven agency, we prioritize transparency with our clients, candidates, and internal team. Sharing these monthly insights is one way we keep everyone informed on where hiring demand is strongest and how the market is evolving in real time.
September brought some notable shifts in hiring demand across states, departments, industries, and the technical skills employers are seeking. While manufacturing and retail continued to lead, we saw particularly strong demand for IT and EDI talent, along with growing demand for niche expertise.
Here’s a deeper look at our activity in September:
Top States
Recruitment spanned 17 different states last month, with PA, TN, and CA having the highest demand for hiring talent…
- PA 25%
- TN 10%
- CA 8%
- MA 8%
- MD 8%
- IL 5%
- MI 5%
- MN 5%
- NC 5%
- NY 5%
- AL 3%
- AR 3%
- AZ 3%
- CO 3%
- DE 3%
- GA 3%
- NJ 3%
Remote Flexibility
We saw a 20% decrease in on-site demand last month…
- On-site: 33%
- Hybrid: 33%
- Remote: 35%
Industry Breakdown
Manufacturing and retail companies continued to lead demand for the third month in a row. We also saw an uptick in needs across the supply chain and healthcare industries…
- Manufacturing & Industrial 28%
- Retail & Consumer Goods 25%
- Supply Chain & Logistics 15%
- Healthcare 8%
- Energy / Utilities 5%
- IT / Technology 5%
- Engineering / Architecture 5%
- Marketing / Media 5%
- Automotive 3%
- Food & Beverage 3%
Top 10 Skills
EDI continued to be our #1 sought-after skill month over month, along with other niche expertise…
- EDI
- SAP
- RPG
- S4HANA
- SQL
- Accounts Payable
- AS400
- ERP
- Azure
- BTP
Hiring by Department
There continued to be little change across departmental hiring; the most notable changes were a 22% decrease in HR and a 10% increase in IT needs…
- IT 43%
- EDI 28%
- Engineering 18%
- Finance & Admin 8%
- HR, Recruiting, & Sales 3%
- Supply Chain 3%
Takeaway
September continued to show strong demand for specialized talent, with IT and EDI making up the majority of our hiring activity. SAP, S4HANA, ERP, and BTP also stood out as emerging top skills, reflecting continued investment in enterprise technology. Manufacturing and retail remained our leading industries, while the need for remote flexibility seemed to be equal across the board for our clients.
Looking to better understand how these shifts affect your specific niche? We’re always happy to share a deeper dive into what we’re seeing. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat about these trends or where we see the market heading next.
Get in touch with our team here.