Recruiters are not waiting for official forecasts to materialize, according to SignalHire's latest analysis of global job searches. The contact intelligence platform examined tens of thousands of recruiter searches between January and April 2025 and the same period in 2026, uncovering significant shifts in hiring priorities.
The most dramatic change is in physical therapy. Searches for Physical Therapist grew 1,473% year over year, while Physical Therapist Assistant searches rose 5,717%. These numbers suggest that the physical therapy shortage is already a crisis, not a future projection. Hiring managers are sourcing ahead of official data because the candidates they need take time to find, approach, and convert. The competition for physical therapy talent in 2026 is far more intense than published forecasts reflect.
Conversely, the broad title "Software Engineer" is losing relevance. Global searches for this role fell 68% year over year, with the UK experiencing a 75% decline. This does not indicate a reduction in technical hiring but rather a move toward specificity. Searches for Java Developer in the UK surged 3,257%, and QA and Software Test Engineer searches rose 567%. Hiring managers are targeting specific technical expertise, as AI tools have absorbed many tasks previously covered by generalist software engineer roles.
For talent acquisition teams, the window between now and when these trends become widely visible in public data is critical. The market is sorting, and the data shows where it is going. SignalHire's findings provide a real-time view of recruiter behavior, enabling sourcing operations to adapt proactively.
SignalHire is a B2B contact intelligence platform offering access to over 850 million verified professional profiles with real-time email and phone verification. The platform serves sales, recruiting, and marketing teams globally through its database, browser extension, API, and Data Enrichment workflows.
