Recruiting Market Report - May

​Find out what we are hearing from candidates and clients and get our predictions for the future of the hiring market in the May 2026 edition of The ASP Team Market Report:

Quinn Finnigan - Recruiting Services Leader

Joss Stokke - Recruiting Services Leader

What are we hearing from candidates?
"I’m getting interviews."

​The anemic hiring market seems to be picking up. Candidates are seeing open positions and interviewing for multiple opportunities. However, they report companies being very particular and the process being very slow, with a lot of time passing between rounds of interviews. This is not leaving them with a sense of being wanted and making them rethink the role and company.

What are we hearing from clients?
"I want to see more candidates."

Clients are moving slowly and intentionally. In the past, speed of hiring was a focus. Whereas now, wanting a candidate that checks off everything desired for a position is the focus. This includes both technical and soft skills, and culture fit continues to be of high importance. Because clients are wanting to see more candidates, their slower pace is causing them to lose candidates they are interested in and have most of the items on their desired list. These candidates are getting other offers and withdrawing from the process. Also, their offers are coming in higher, in addition to faster. Clients are willing to let positions sit open longer, which is putting a strain on the rest of the finance and accounting group.
  
What are we feeling about the market?
Better with the uptick in May jobs.

​The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its May report showing 172,000 jobs were added to the economy while unemployment stayed the same at 4.3%, This increase in jobs, although not roaring, came in well above expectations and follows two months of positive job growth. Although job adds were much stronger than expected, the BLS also published five alternative measures of labor underutilization in addition to unemployment, and each one shows a growing number of Americans have experienced employment conditions that have left them underemployed or sidelined. Additionally, wage increases continue to be lower than inflation.

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ASP Hiring Statistics
44 - Average Days to Place
$162,000 - Average Placed Controller Salary
27% - Percent of Diversity Hires
97% - Percent of time we get interviews for our clients

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Recent Placements
Controller – Construction – Auburn
Senior Accountant – Real Estate – Seattle 
Controller – Manufacturing – Tukwila

View Our Current Openings

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