Thank you to everyone that responded to the February 2026 Business Barometer Benchmarking Survey. We will be sharing select results across our social channels next week.
A total of 114 responses were received, a response rate of 22%. More than 60% of responses came from North America; we would love to see a more balanced representation of responses globally. Of those, 65% focus on both clients and candidates; 19% just on clients and 16% just on candidates.
Comparing the previous 180 days to the same time a year ago, results are mixed:
- 20% said business is better by 15% or more, while 15% said it was worse by 15% or more.
- An equal percentage (15%) of members said conditions were better by 5-15% AND worse by 5-15% during this time period, while a third reported no change.
Looking at the last 90 days compared to owner expectations, 60% of respondents said business was in line with or above expectations, while 40% indicated it was below expectations. This aligns with overall network activity that we saw during the fourth quarter as well.
However, the outlook for the next 180 days is much more hopeful, with 64% feeling positive and only 15% negative. Eighty percent reported that fees over the past 180 days were in line with or above the previous year.
Members report equal amounts of difficulty finding both candidates and jobs.
Manufacturing / supply chain was the strongest reported vertical (43%) over the last 180 days followed by technology (24%) and accounting / finance (18%). Interestingly, 18% of respondents also indicated that technology was the weakest vertical, which again aligns with what we have seen with scattered pockets of robust activity within broader sectors.
Nearly half of respondents (46%) reported that NPAworldwide activity accounts for zero to below five percent of their business, while it accounts for 5-15% of business for 27% of respondents. Over the next six months, 50% expect to see an increase in split activity and 42% expect no change.
Some comments of note from respondents:
- Middle market, privately-held companies are outpacing large corporate, which has been flat.
- Our vertical remains a candidate market; there is a talent shortage as many left the industry due to Covid.
- Candidates not responding to calls, texts, or emails.
- Niche markets are becoming more important.
- AI fatigue already starting to happen. Approaches need to be human to cut through the AI noise.
- Company internal recruiters have taken the easy-to-fill roles. The more difficult technical roles are still there for us. Candidates are reluctant to relocate.
- Companies want talent that can help in driving transformational growth. Leaders that are content at maintaining status quo are not in demand. This talent is in short supply and companies are relying on search firms to find them strong talent from this pool.
- Clients want longer guarantee periods and more value-adds, concerns with clients being open to retain fees, clients wanting significantly reduced fees and/or taking recruitment in-house.