# Daniel Culbertson reports in Indeed Hiring Lab: US job trends vary by sector [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/daniel-culbertson-reports-in-indeed-hiring-lab-us-job-trends-ba8f6aec) Daniel Culbertson’s report, published February 20, 2026, tracks employment trends across five US industry verticals in the fourth quarter of 2025. Indeed Hiring Lab’s snapshots show different patterns in job postings and wages: transportation postings fell year over year, while driving and loading and stocking wages grew faster than the overall labor market. Retail postings declined across categories, but retail wage growth outpaced food service and the broader labor market. Business-to-business trends leaned positive; tech postings remained weak even as software development wages rose. Healthcare postings stayed above their pre-pandemic baselines, though wage growth weakened in most categories. The report’s point is that sector-level signals differ: weak postings do not always coincide with weak wage growth, and healthcare’s relative strength in postings comes alongside slowing wage growth. These briefs describe trends, not what caused them or what they mean for individual workers. The retrieved text does not explain how the underlying Indeed data are collected or how the comparisons are calculated. Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Feb 20, 2026 (2026-02-20). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-08T03:53:24.194Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:12:23.646Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:21:54.946Z. - [US Labor Market Quarterly Verticals for Q4 2025](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published February 20, 2026. The retrieved text summarizes the sector briefs but does not explain how Indeed data are collected or how the comparisons are calculated. ## Open question How does Indeed Hiring Lab calculate these job-posting and wage comparisons, and how might those methods affect the sector trends reported? ## Source-stated Daniel Culbertson’s report describes employment trends in five US industry verticals during the fourth quarter of 2025. > Using the latest Indeed data, these short research briefs track employment trends in five industry verticals over the fourth quarter of 2025. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated The report is dated February 20, 2026. > February 20, 2026 - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says transportation job postings were down year over year across categories, while driving and loading and stocking wage growth exceeded the overall labor market’s. > all categories are down year-over-year, but the picture for wages does look a bit better. Driving and loading & stocking wage growth both outpace that of the overall labor market. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says retail postings declined across categories, while retail wage growth outpaced food service and the rest of the labor market. > Job postings across all categories declined throughout the year, with retail itself posting the largest drop. At 2.9% year-over-year to December 2025, retail wage growth now outpaces that of food service & preparation, as well as the rest of the labor market. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab describes business-to-business trends as leaning positive in the last quarter of 2025, with most categories’ wage growth outpacing the overall labor market. > Trends in the business-to-business (B2B) vertical leaned toward the positive in the last quarter of 2025. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says tech job-posting trends remained weak, while software development wage growth reached 2.1% year over year. > Despite weakness in postings, software development wage growth has notched volatile but substantial gains, climbing to 2.1% year-over-year. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says healthcare postings remained above their pre-pandemic baselines, while wage growth weakened in all categories except dental, where it stayed flat. > Job postings in all categories are well above their pre-pandemic baseline. Wage growth in all categories weakened in the six months leading to December 2025, with the exception of dental, which remained flat. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Escape Meridian interpretation Escape Meridian reads the report as showing that job-posting and wage signals can differ within a sector; the report does not establish why they differ. > Despite weakness in postings, software development wage growth has notched volatile but substantial gains - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: ee381cbb-3445-f2c3-dc6a-26ca74717acf. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: uncertain by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-08T03:49:04.192Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 8aa111cb697389c1ea5faaba124d0b14308098aed5185becdbb3eec46d0ea157. Source text hash: cea4edd14d0ed5005785c52d4e892068939c230fe48516a34bbc39a7dd9ee428. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-11-08T03:53:24.194Z Daniel Culbertson’s report, published February 20, 2026, tracks employment trends across five US industry verticals in the fourth quarter of 2025. Indeed Hiring Lab’s snapshots show different patterns in job postings and wages: transportation postings fell year over year, while driving and loading and stocking wages grew faster than the overall labor market. Retail postings declined across categories, but retail wage growth outpaced food service and the broader labor market. Business-to-business trends leaned positive; tech postings remained weak even as software development wages rose. Healthcare postings stayed above their pre-pandemic baselines, though wage growth weakened in most categories. The report’s point is that sector-level signals differ: weak postings do not always coincide with weak wage growth, and healthcare’s relative strength in postings comes alongside slowing wage growth. These briefs describe trends, not what caused them or what they mean for individual workers. The retrieved text does not explain how the underlying Indeed data are collected or how the comparisons are calculated. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Feb 20, 2026 (2026-02-20). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-08T03:53:24.194Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:12:23.646Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:21:54.946Z. - [US Labor Market Quarterly Verticals for Q4 2025](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published February 20, 2026. The retrieved text summarizes the sector briefs but does not explain how Indeed data are collected or how the comparisons are calculated. ## Open question How does Indeed Hiring Lab calculate these job-posting and wage comparisons, and how might those methods affect the sector trends reported? ## Source-stated Daniel Culbertson’s report describes employment trends in five US industry verticals during the fourth quarter of 2025. > Using the latest Indeed data, these short research briefs track employment trends in five industry verticals over the fourth quarter of 2025. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated The report is dated February 20, 2026. > February 20, 2026 - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says transportation job postings were down year over year across categories, while driving and loading and stocking wage growth exceeded the overall labor market’s. > all categories are down year-over-year, but the picture for wages does look a bit better. Driving and loading & stocking wage growth both outpace that of the overall labor market. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says retail postings declined across categories, while retail wage growth outpaced food service and the rest of the labor market. > Job postings across all categories declined throughout the year, with retail itself posting the largest drop. At 2.9% year-over-year to December 2025, retail wage growth now outpaces that of food service & preparation, as well as the rest of the labor market. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab describes business-to-business trends as leaning positive in the last quarter of 2025, with most categories’ wage growth outpacing the overall labor market. > Trends in the business-to-business (B2B) vertical leaned toward the positive in the last quarter of 2025. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says tech job-posting trends remained weak, while software development wage growth reached 2.1% year over year. > Despite weakness in postings, software development wage growth has notched volatile but substantial gains, climbing to 2.1% year-over-year. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source-stated Indeed Hiring Lab says healthcare postings remained above their pre-pandemic baselines, while wage growth weakened in all categories except dental, where it stayed flat. > Job postings in all categories are well above their pre-pandemic baseline. Wage growth in all categories weakened in the six months leading to December 2025, with the exception of dental, which remained flat. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Escape Meridian interpretation Escape Meridian reads the report as showing that job-posting and wage signals can differ within a sector; the report does not establish why they differ. > Despite weakness in postings, software development wage growth has notched volatile but substantial gains - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2026/02/20/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q4-2025/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: ee381cbb-3445-f2c3-dc6a-26ca74717acf. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: uncertain by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-08T03:49:04.192Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 8aa111cb697389c1ea5faaba124d0b14308098aed5185becdbb3eec46d0ea157. Source text hash: cea4edd14d0ed5005785c52d4e892068939c230fe48516a34bbc39a7dd9ee428. ### uncertain — 2026-11-08T03:49:04.192Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: ee381cbb-3445-f2c3-dc6a-26ca74717acf attribution — pass: The reading correctly credits Daniel Culbertson and Indeed Hiring Lab. The page is one piece: a set of sector briefs with the author's own commentary, not a bare index. The related-story carousel is not attributed or used. > By Daniel Culbertson summary — uncertain: The sector-by-sector recap is faithful. However, 'The report's point is that sector-level signals differ' presents Escape Meridian's synthesis as the report's stated thesis. The source only gives per-sector notes; the claims list correctly labels this as interpretation. Smallest repair: 'Escape Meridian reads these briefs as showing...'. Minor fidelity gaps: tech 'remained weak' omits that software postings began to level off while other categories stay at least 30% below pre-pandemic levels. 'Verticals' could also use a plain gloss. > Although software development job postings have begun to level off, other categories remain at least 30% below their pre-pandemic level. date — pass: The February 20, 2026 date matches the source dateline at day precision. The reading uses no later material and makes no hindsight claims. The carousel's related-story titles are not used. The page was modified 2026-03-09, but the reading's date statement relies only on the dateline. This is a publisher page, so no archive disclosure is needed. > February 20, 2026 support — uncertain: Each sector claim matches the quoted text. However, evidence.editedAfterPublication is true (dateModified 2026-03-09), so the specific figures cited could reflect that later edit rather than the original February 20 text. The summary's framing of the postings-versus-wages contrast as 'the report's point' goes beyond what the source states. The claim that healthcare wage growth weakened in 'most categories' is consistent with the source (all except dental). > At 2.9% year-over-year to December 2025, retail wage growth now outpaces that of food service & preparation, as well as the rest of the labor market. media — pass: No media was selected, and none is available in the verified candidates. This is appropriate. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/ba8f6aec6064712afed7fb5a6ad4d59c4d85a827c4acb4f6f764f4f71ee69bcd/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/daniel-culbertson-reports-in-indeed-hiring-lab-us-job-trends-ba8f6aec.json)