Trades Now Harder to Fill Than Tech Jobs, Retirees Returning to Work, & New Unemployment Data - Cornering The Job Market

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One of the job market's longest-standing assumptions just got flipped. A new Randstad analysis of more than 150 million job postings found that skilled trades roles now take longer to fill than software developer positions, and the demand gap is accelerating. Robotics technicians, HVAC engineers, and industrial automation specialists are among the fastest-growing roles in the entire labor market, driven largely by the physical infrastructure AI requires to function. Host Pete Newsome breaks down what that means for job seekers, career changers, and the broader conversation around trades versus college. He also covers a new Indeed Flex survey showing nearly one in three retirees are working or open to returning, with 63% citing inflation as the primary driver and 74% saying their view of retirement has fundamentally changed in the past five years. Pete makes the case for why employers struggling with part-time and hourly hiring should be actively recruiting this overlooked talent pool. On the confidence front, ZipRecruiter's Q1 2026 Job Seeker Confidence Index came in at its highest reading since 2022.

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