A new Monster survey finds that transparency and efficiency have become make-or-break factors in whether candidates engage with a job posting at all.
60% of workers say they won't apply to a job that doesn't include a salary range. 59% say roles requiring unpaid assignments or extensive take-home work would deter them from applying.
Negative company reviews or reputation would stop 56% from applying, unclear job descriptions would stop 51%, and overly long or complicated applications would stop 45%.
Once in the process, 57% say a poor interview experience would cause them to drop out, 56% cite unclear or constantly changing hiring processes, and 53% say long delays or lack of communication would lead them to withdraw.
More than three rounds of interviews is a red flag for 51% of candidates.
The findings come as AI tools have made hiring more opaque on both sides, with applicants responding by applying for more jobs rather than fewer, adding to the volume that hiring teams already struggle to manage.
Read more via Monster and HR Dive
As demand for skilled trades grows and low-cost training options fill up, more students are turning to pricier private programs, taking on debt levels that rival traditional college.
Trade and technical school revenue hit $5.1 billion in the last quarter of 2025, up 41% from four years earlier, according to federal data.
Tuition for for-profit vocational programs under two years rose a median 5% between 2022 and 2024; some specialized programs cost as much as $66,000 a year.
Community college and union apprenticeship programs are overwhelmed: enrollment at vocational-focused community colleges has soared nearly 20% since 2020, and a Philadelphia steamfitters union program received 609 applications for 85 slots.
Students at for-profit trade schools tend to come from lower-income households, with average household income around $62,000, compared to $81,000 for other respondents, according to a 2022 MIT survey.
Starting July 1, Pell Grants will become available for some short-term career and technical training, opening access to up to $6 billion in federal aid.
Read more via The Wall Street Journal
Immigration enforcement and declining interest among young workers are squeezing the supply of dishwashers, one of the restaurant industry's most critical and hardest-to-fill positions.
Restaurant operators advertised tens of thousands of dishwashing jobs last year, making it one of the industry's most sought-after positions, according to labor analytics firm Lightcast.
According to a survey of sit-down restaurants by the National Restaurant Association, more than half (54%) of respondents said they had fewer-than-average applicants for kitchen support positions last year.
Foreign-born workers make up about 20% of U.S. restaurant industry jobs. Industry experts say the current immigration crackdown is making an already difficult hiring situation worse.
Dishwashers average around $32,500 a year, ranking in the bottom third of restaurant jobs, and turnover is high: replacing an hourly restaurant worker now costs an estimated $2,700, up from $2,300 in 2024, according to Black Box Intelligence.
Some restaurants are finding creative solutions. Sushi chain Kura Sushi is importing robotic dishwashers from Japan at $15,000 each, while Chicago's John's Food and Wine shares service fees with hourly staff, bringing its dishwashers' average earnings to $70,000 last year.
As decades of offshoring and the elimination of home economics programs thinned the ranks of skilled tailors, retailers like Nordstrom and Men's Wearhouse are finding it increasingly hard to fill alterations jobs.
The number of U.S. tailors fell to about 18,500 in 2024, a nearly 30% drop from a decade ago and roughly half the number working in 1997, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nordstrom, which employs about 1,500 tailors, launched a training program with the Fashion Institute of Technology that drew more than 190 applications for 15 spots in its first semester.
Tailored Brands, which employs about 1,300 tailors across Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, is updating its apprenticeship program to move trainees through faster.
Demand is being driven by a confluence of factors: the resale clothing boom, the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, and a wave of near-retirement-age tailors leaving the workforce.
The shortage is also hampering efforts to revive domestic apparel manufacturing, with at least one manufacturer citing a lack of trained tailors as a reason for closing.
Read more via Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal
A new Indeed Hiring Lab analysis finds that employers are least likely to train the workers who may need it most, potentially widening existing labor market gaps.
67% of U.S. employees say learning is a personal priority, but only 48% say it is a priority for their employer, a 19-point gap that is among the largest of eight countries surveyed.
Workers without a bachelor's degree are substantially less likely to receive employer-provided training, with education-based gaps ranging from eight percentage points in Ireland to 21 points in Australia and France.
An analysis of Spain's 2022 labor market reform, which restricted temporary contracts, found that occupations that shifted to permanent hiring saw training offers rise enough to eliminate a pre-existing gap entirely.
Indeed warns the pattern means employer-provided training "may be reinforcing, rather than narrowing, existing gaps in the labor market."
Read more via Indeed Hiring Lab, HR Dive
A new Ontario law requires employers with more than 25 employees to notify candidates within 45 days of their final interview whether they were successful, with fines of up to CA$100,000 for non-compliance. The law took effect in January.
63% of candidates in the UK and Ireland say they have been ghosted by an employer after an interview, according to a 2025 Greenhouse report.
Ontario's law also requires employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings.
Some employer groups warn the rule could add administrative burden and may simply produce automated rejection emails rather than meaningful feedback.
Read more via Lexology, Positive News
The Office of Personnel Management has overhauled qualifications for the federal government's IT management job series, shifting from degree and experience requirements to formal skills-based assessments.
The changes cover the 2210 job series, which includes governmentwide IT management positions, and are the first step in a broader plan to revise all 604 federal job series to focus on skills and competencies.
OPM also plans to reduce the total number of federal job series by at least 25%.
The revisions build on bipartisan reform efforts dating back through multiple administrations, including the Chance to Compete Act enacted in 2024.
Implementation faces headwinds: the Partnership for Public Service warns that skills-based hiring requires significant HR resources and capacity, both of which have been reduced by recent federal workforce cuts.
Read more via Federal News Network
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received more than 12,000 applications in under two days after launching a recruitment campaign aimed at video gamers, more than double its previous application record.
The Transportation Department launched the campaign on April 10, targeting 18- to 30-year-old gamers whose skills, including quick thinking, focus, and managing complexity, are seen as transferable to air traffic control.
Of the 12,350 applicants, 10,779 were identified as qualified for air traffic controller roles. No prior experience is required and new hires begin with training at the FAA Academy.
Only about 25% of current controllers hold a traditional college degree, according to the Transportation Department.
The FAA currently has nearly 11,000 controllers, but a January GAO report found the total has declined roughly 6% over the past decade even as flight volume has increased 10%.
Read more via Government Executive
