IHL Group Launches the IHL Hiring Demand Index, a Weekly Read on Retail and Hospitality Hiring

New index tracks live job postings at companies representing nearly 1 Million stores across the United States, Canada and Europe, published every Monday

NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, October 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- IHL Group today launched the IHL Hiring Demand Index (HDI), a weekly measure of hiring demand across the retail and hospitality industries. The index tracks open job postings at retail and hospitality companies representing 942,937 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, and it is published every Monday at ihlservices.com.

In the week ending October 11, 2026, the index stood at 106.0, down 0.7 percent from the prior week but up 1.3 percent over the past four weeks. Store operations roles account for more than half of all open postings, and seasonal and holiday roles have risen to 7.4 percent of postings as retailers staff up for the holidays.

What the Index Measures:

The HDI is built from IHL Group's Sophia job-postings panel. Each week it reports:
• Overall hiring demand, indexed to June 7, 2026 = 100, with a four-week average that smooths out single-week swings
• Hiring by job function, including store operations, restaurant and kitchen, and technology roles
• The share of open postings for seasonal and holiday roles
• Regional trends for the United States, Canada and Europe

Each company is compared only with itself from one week to the next, so companies joining or leaving the panel do not move the index. The HDI measures open job postings, not completed hires.

Why It Matters
Open job postings show where employers plan to add people before those hires appear in government payroll data. That makes the HDI a leading read on the direction of retail and hospitality employment, ahead of official releases. The latest official vacancy figures describe August 2026 and the second quarter of 2026. For retailers, restaurant operators, technology vendors and investors, the index offers a weekly view of where frontline labor demand is building and which roles are in short supply.

This Week's Results: Week Ending October 11, 2026
• Hiring Demand Index: 106.0, down 0.7 percent from the prior week
• Four-week average: 106.3, up 0.3 percent from the prior week's average
• Four-week change: up 1.3 percent
• Store operations: 55.6 percent of open postings with an identifiable job type; down 2.0 percent on the week, up 13.1 percent over four weeks
• Restaurant and kitchen: 13.7 percent of those postings; down 1.0 percent on the week, up 0.9 percent over four weeks
• Technology: 0.8 percent of those postings; down 0.7 percent on the week, up 3.1 percent over four weeks
• Seasonal and holiday roles: 7.4 percent of all open postings, up from 2.1 percent four weeks earlier
• Regions: Canada up 2.4 percent on the week, Europe up 2.3 percent, the United States down 1.2 percent

Roughly one in four store postings with a stated job level is for a manager or above (24.6 percent). Among technology postings with a full job description, SQL and Python each appear in 21 percent, and agentic AI appears in 5 percent.

“Retailers and restaurant operators make staffing and technology decisions months before the official labor data catches up,” said Greg Buzek, President of IHL Group. “The Hiring Demand Index allows the industry to see where the opportunities are and gives them a weekly read on where demand is actually building. Right now that’s the store floor, with seasonal hiring well under way.”

Availability
The full first issue, with exhibits by job function and region, the comparison with official labor statistics and the methodology, is available at https://www.ihlservices.com/hiring-demand-index. New issues are published every Monday.

About IHL Group
IHL Group is a global research and advisory firm specializing in technologies for the retail and hospitality industries. The company produces market studies, custom research and data services for retailers, technology vendors and investors. Learn more at www.ihlservices.com.

Gregory Buzek
IHL Group
+1 615-591-2955
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