Latest Release: 2025 Q2The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a quarterly survey of U.S. residents who started their current jobs within the past six months. New hires are the leading edge of the labor market—the first to experience changes in the urgency and intensity with which employers are recruiting workers, and the terms of employment on offer. Indicators tracked in this survey—such as how long it took workers to find their jobs, and what share received signing bonuses or healthcare benefits upon hire—can help gauge the quantity and quality of jobs available in the U.S. economy.
Latest Release
Q2 2025
The latest findings from ZipRecruiter’s Q2 2025 New Hires Survey suggest a changing labor market landscape – with both employees and employers bracing for uncertain economic headwinds. Job searches are taking longer, with only 41% of new hires having found their job within 1 month – down from 49% last quarter. New hires’ priorities are also shifting; while pay remains a top factor, benefits have caught up—35% of new hires accepted their job because of better benefits, compared to 34% who prioritized higher pay. This marks the first time since the survey began that benefits have edged ahead. At the same time, new hire satisfaction is declining, with only 35% reporting they are “very satisfied” in their new roles, down from 40% last quarter and the lowest level recorded in survey history. Q2 results indicate that uncertain economic conditions are impacting the labor market more deeply than employment and job openings data may reveal.
Data Spotlight
59%
Previous: 60%
say their job search went well
58%
Previous: 60%
increased their pay
33%
Previous: 20%
got recruited
47%
Previous: 35%
negotiated their offers
42%
Previous: 31%
received a signing bonus
33%
Previous: 26%
received a counter-offer from their prior employer
35%
Previous: 40%
are “very satisfied” with their job
Highlights of the Q2 2025 Survey:
Amid an unpredictable labor market, the job search is growing more complex—for both candidates and employers. The latest JOLTS data shows job openings stabilizing after falling from their post-pandemic peak, signaling a labor market that is cooling without collapsing. Quit rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and CES data highlights uneven employment gains—driven largely by sectors like health care and leisure and hospitality, with little movement elsewhere.
In this evolving environment, job seekers are taking longer to land roles and are placing greater emphasis on benefits, stability, and flexibility. For employers, that means aligning more closely with what today’s workforce actually values.
Jobs Are Still Out There—Just Taking Longer to Find
The Job Search is Taking Longer: A historic low of 41% of new hires found their current job within one month, down from 49% in Q1. Meanwhile, the share of those whose search took three months or more increased to 24% from 18%. This trend indicates that securing a new position is becoming more time-consuming, reflecting a more competitive job market for candidates.
More Applications & Interviews: The number of applications new hires submitted to find their job has surged, increasing by 8 to a shocking average of 39 in Q2. Similarly, the average number of interviews nearly doubled, rising to 15 in Q2 from 8 in Q1, reflecting the growing effort and competitiveness candidates face during their job search and making persistence more crucial than ever.
Companies are Taking Their Time: Quick response times have also hit an all-time low, with only 45% of hiring managers and recruiters reaching out within three days, down from 54%. Meanwhile, 26% take four to six days to respond—up from 19%—and 27% take one to two weeks, rising from 22%. This slowdown in communication can increase uncertainty for candidates and delay the hiring process.
Altogether, these patterns paint a picture of a slower, more demanding job search process—both in effort and in time. Candidates are applying to more roles, partaking in more interviews, and waiting longer for responses, all while navigating a more selective hiring environment. For job seekers, perseverance and strategic positioning are becoming crucial. And for employers, delays and opacity in the process risk losing engaged, qualified talent to faster-moving competitors.
New Hires Seek Shelter from the Economic Storm
Pay Still Matters: While pay remains the top reason why people want to switch jobs, the share of new hires receiving higher pay has dropped to 58% from 60% in Q1. However, those who are landing higher-paying roles are seeing record-breaking raises—earning 33% more in their new positions this quarter, up from 29% in Q1. Despite the continued importance of pay, other factors are increasingly influencing job acceptance decisions.
Benefits and Perks Are On the Rise: This quarter saw a sharp drop in the share of new hires accepting jobs for higher pay—falling from a record high of 52% in Q1 to a record low of 34% in Q2. For the first time since the survey began, more new hires said they accepted their job for better benefits than for higher pay. At the same time, signing bonuses are making a comeback: 33% of new hires received one in Q2, up from 20% in Q1. Notably, 18% of new hires received a signing bonus this quarter when they hadn’t previously. While pay remains important, job seekers are increasingly weighing benefits and upfront incentives as key factors in their job search.
Negotiating Pays–But Not Always in Pay: Fewer new hires are negotiating their offers—just 42% did so in Q2, a rebound from 31% last quarter but still well below the recent peak of 49% in Q4 2024. Even among those who negotiated, outcomes are shifting: only 48% received higher pay, the lowest share on record and down sharply from 73% last quarter. However, negotiation still pays off in other ways—over one-third of negotiators secured improved benefits or a signing bonus, both up from last quarter, and only 6% failed to improve their offer at all. These results suggest that while negotiation remains effective, the outcomes are shifting toward non-salary incentives.
Shifts in Medium-Term Job Stability: Medium-term job tenure rose sharply in Q2, with a record 40% of new hires saying they plan to stay in their new role for one to two years—up from 33% in Q1. Expectations for three to five years also saw a slight increase, from 20% in Q1 to 21% in Q2. Notably, long-term commitment has dropped significantly over the last few quarters: just 23% of new hires now expect to stay five or more years, down from a peak of 38% at the end of 2024. This shift suggests that many new hires are seeking short-term stability amid economic uncertainty— choosing roles they can settle into for now, while keeping an eye out for roles that better align with their long-term goals.
Taken together, these trends point to a recalibration of what job seekers value in a changing labor market. While higher pay remains a powerful motivator, it no longer stands alone. Candidates are increasingly prioritizing benefits, bonuses, and work-life stability—elements that offer more than just financial gain. At the same time, the rise in medium-term commitments reflects a desire for security without long-term lock-in, as workers continue to navigate economic uncertainty.
Winning—and Keeping—Talent Takes More Than Just Showing Up
Longer Searches Have Led to More Offers: On average, new hires received 3.5 offers during their job search, up from 2.3 last quarter and surpassing the previous high of 3.1 recorded in Q4 2024. This rise corresponds with the 6-percentage-point increase in new hires taking more than three months to secure a job. Despite longer job searches, qualified candidates are often receiving multiple offers—giving them the opportunity to choose the most attractive option. This reflects a competitive hiring landscape where top talent has the leverage to weigh benefits, pay, and growth potential before making a decision.
New Hires are Less Satisfied: The share of new hires who say they are “very satisfied” with their new roles has fallen sharply to a historic low of 35%, down from a peak of 46% in Q4 2024. Although the majority—76% in Q2—still report being satisfied overall, this is a notable decline from 82% last quarter. This downward trend highlights a growing disconnect between job expectations and reality—suggesting that many new hires feel the roles they accepted don’t match what was described or ultimately fall short
New Hires Are Still Job Seekers: A staggering 55% of new hires continue to search for jobs, with 11% actively looking because their current role is not the right fit. This marks a notable increase from last quarter, when only 43% were still searching and 9% were actively seeking new opportunities, highlighting new hires’ ongoing efforts to find stability amid uncertain economic times.
Employers Are Working Harder to Attract and Keep Talent: Recruitment among new hires has rebounded, with 47% reporting they were actively recruited into their new role—up from 35% in Q1. At the same time, employers are working harder than ever to retain staff, with a record one-third of new hires receiving counter offers from their previous employers before making the switch.
For most job seekers, these trends reflect a tightening labor market where finding the right role has become increasingly difficult. For top talent, however, the growing competition among employers offers greater leverage—creating more choice and stronger negotiating power. Job seekers are enduring longer searches and receiving more offers, yet many remain unsatisfied or continue looking even after accepting a role. As employers increase efforts to recruit and retain talent—including counteroffers and improving benefits—they’re responding to a workforce still in search of the right fit. In this environment, making the hire is just the beginning; sustaining satisfaction and stability is the real differentiator.
"In today’s slow-moving job market, resilience is rewarded. Job seekers who own their strengths, know what they want in a role, and approach the job search with a focused strategy are well-positioned to land opportunities."
– Sam DeMase, ZipRecruiter Career Expert
Methodology
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a survey fielded to a nationally representative online panel administered by PureSpectrum during the second month of every quarter. The sample consists of more than 1,500 adults who reside in the U.S., who are currently employed, and who began their current jobs within the past six months. It excludes self-employed workers.
The survey asks these recently hired workers detailed questions about the circumstances leading up to their employment, the hiring process, the job offer, and the working conditions in their new roles. Additional findings regarding the prevalence and distribution of particular job search experiences and working conditions across the cohort of recent hires, by age, gender, education, and industry, are available upon request. Email press@ziprecruiter.com for more survey data or to schedule an interview with the authors of this study.