What companies searched this month: healthcare up 67%, finance down 70%
Every 74 seconds someone views a solution profile on Human Cloud. The data behind this week's debrief: what companies searched, and what it means for how you position.
Human Cloud TeamGet this in your inbox every week. Join 26,000+ subscribers.
Subscribe →Hey everyone,
This week's debrief is the data behind what we're seeing: what companies are searching for, how buyers are engaging with profiles, and where the market is moving.
What companies searched this month
Every 74 seconds, someone is looking at a solution profile on Human Cloud. Here is what they are searching to find them.
Distinct categories searched per week
48 week of Oct 12 |
32 week of Oct 5 |
33 week of Sep 28 |
| Healthcare | +67% this month |
| Content creation | +50% this month |
| Media and entertainment | +33% this month |
| Finance | -70% this month |
Percentages are this month vs last month.
None of these were searched at all last month: defense, EOR, construction, software, energy engineering, and academic research. If one of these describes what you actually do, that is the language worth putting on your profile.
What it means for solutions
The solution: redesign the work first, then agentify/automate it. Break the job into outcomes, decide who owns each task, then bring in the talent and the tools.
Here's how Human Cloud helps:
Human Cloud is the research and market authority for the flexible workforce, the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. We map the market, measure how it is searched, and give every solution the data and the closed-door community to lead its space.
As you hopefully know, Human Cloud has been the hub for the flexible workforce since our CEO Matthew Mottola published The Human Cloud book with HarperCollins in 2020 (he'd been writing it since 2016).
As you definitely know, the go-to-market and education for this space is HARD. Buyers either don't know, or don't care, or just want an easy button to move from traditional staffing and contingent talent channels to a flexible talent channel.
Which is where keynotes like Tony's below educate and mobilize buyers from unaware or semi-interested to ready to invest in their flexible workforce through solutions like you. If you have a membership, you have access to presentations like below, and are eligible to be in our exclusive solution community.
 |
Here's to a world that works,
- HC Research Team
|
About the HC Research Team
|
The 2026 Market Map
The 2026 Market Map is live: the entire flexible workforce in one taxonomy, the top 5% of every segment on one page. Every segment on the map is a place a buyer can find you. If you are on it, share it. If you are not yet, this is where you fit.
 |
Ways to get involved with Human Cloud
Upcoming dinners
Executive dinners for operating partners and talent leaders
Small rooms, real conversations, and the solutions that are hosting them. See what is coming up next.
See upcoming dinners →Upcoming event
Thursday, October 29 · 12:00 PM ET · Virtual
HC Community Call · October 2026
Where flexible talent fits amidst the broader talent ecosystem. The call opens with a Staffing Industry Analysts and Private Equity International deep dive. We will also discuss key insights on how private equity firms are using flexible talent, then cover how solutions win without losing what makes them special.
 |
Featuring Ian Davidson Founder, Signol Labs · The science of candidate profiles that convert |
Join the community
The community is where this data lives between editions: the Industry News feed, curated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Industry Insights, the running list of acquisitions, events, deals, and stats across the flexible workforce. Membership is free to apply for.
Sources
[1] Reuters via Yahoo Finance: Block cuts over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce
[2] Reuters via KSL: Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency
[3] GoodReturns: Atlassian cuts 1,600 jobs as it shifts focus to AI
[4] Challenger, Gray & Christmas: September job cuts report, AI cited for 120,136 cuts (21%) in 2026
[5] Mind the Product: Klarna goes on recruitment drive after ditching AI-first policy
[6] AZFamily: Companies rehire workers after AI layoffs in ‘boomerang’ trend
[7] Robert Half: Only 6% of organizations have the talent they need to complete priority projects
[8] HR Dive: Hiring skills gaps are more pronounced (62% report growing gaps)
[9] Robert Half: 67% of HR leaders report AI-generated applications are slowing hiring
Get insights like this every week
Join 26,000+ leaders staying ahead of the flexible talent market.
Subscribe Now →Related Articles
Consumer goods searches doubled. AI fell again.
It has never been easier yet harder to bring flexible talent in. Consumer goods and B2B doubled, AI fell 33%. What it means for how you position.
The risk for full time hiring has never been higher
Microsoft suspended from PERM. 72% of buyers hit candidate fraud. AI agents cut Job&Talent costs 30%.
AI searches fell 71%. HR doubled.
Two states just put a human reviewer between AI and the workforce. Advanced technology rose 200%, HR doubled, AI fell 71%. What it means for how you position this month.