Reducing the Time to Get Hired by Half

Aspiration for Society

Reduce the time it takes to get hired by half by FY2030 compared to that of FY2021^*2

We have been working to get closer to the hire by helping job seekers and employers through every step of the search and hiring process. With the power of our hiring platform, job seekers are able to search for a job, apply for a job, have an interview, and get hired faster and simpler than ever before. Through the combination of rich data and product advancement, we will continue improving the quality of job matching.

Advancement in Measurement Methodology

Establishing Job Search Duration Measurement

“When does a job search begin and when does it end?” To date, there has not been an established measurement method available to capture exactly how long it takes for job seekers to get jobs on a job platform. Therefore, our journey started by developing a methodology to enable us to answer this question. Since we launched this goal in May 2021, we started a phased strategy to advance our measurement methodology.

We had a measurement logic in place that shed light on when a job search ended (what we call “hired signal”), but we did not have a way to know and measure when a job search starts. To calculate the overall search duration from when a job search starts to when a person is hired, we began gathering self-reported data on job search duration directly from job seekers who found their jobs on Indeed ― this data formed the basis for our methodology. In May 2021, we shared that it takes approximately 15 weeks for most people to get jobs on Indeed^*3. In the long term, we are evolving our measurement methodology to identify the start of job search from actions on the platform to measure the time it takes to get hired more easily.

Learn more about job seekers’ self-reported data

Employer “Time-to-Hire"^*4

In pursuit of our long-term goal to halve the time it takes to get hired, we need to understand the processes of both the job seeker and employer. Starting in FY2023, we focused on the "Time-to-Hire (TTH)" for employers, a metric that can be measured at each step of the hiring process, up to and including the hire, based on Indeed data. As shown in the diagram below, many of the steps that job seekers follow in the job search process parallel those that employers follow in the hiring process, and employers' actions significantly impact the time it takes to get hired.

We measure the time it takes for an employer to hire by using the date that the job was created on Indeed as the start point, and the date that a successful hire was made as the end point. Each step of this process can be measured on Indeed.

The Hiring Process of Job Seekers and Employers

We have refined the TTH measurement methodology to be more accurate and actionable—enabling it to identify targeted strategies to reduce TTH at each step of the employer hiring journey, and to understand the impact of external factors such as macroeconomic conditions. The new TTH in January 2025 is 42 days, up slightly from 41 days^*5 in December 2023.

Average Employer Time to Hire

Macroeconomic fluctuations impact Time to Hire

Over the course of 2024, TTH has trended slightly upward. This is in part due to the macroeconomic conditions in the U.S. affecting the hiring market. Initial research suggests that the U.S. quits rate^*6 and TTH are inversely correlated. When the quits rate goes up by 1%, TTH goes down by 2.7 days^*7.

On the other hand, findings also suggest that the U.S. labor force participation rate^*8 and TTH are correlated. When the labor force participation rate goes up by 1%, TTH goes up by 3.1 days^*7. We observed a pronounced decline in the U.S. quits rate in 2024, while the labor force participation rate has been gradually increasing post-pandemic.

Indeed products drive shorter TTH even under macroeconomic fluctuations

Even amid challenging macroeconomic conditions, our research consistently shows that when employers used Indeed’s paid solutions, TTH decreased significantly. Indeed’s AI-powered features played a key role in accelerating hiring and improving outcomes.

Sponsored Jobs

Employers can increase the visibility of their open roles to attract more quality candidates through paid job listings called Sponsored Jobs on Indeed. Sponsored Jobs are shown to candidates with profiles who are most likely to apply by using Indeed’s matching technology. A global analysis conducted from January 2024 to January 2025 found that Sponsored Jobs on Indeed experienced 22% faster TTH than jobs that were not sponsored^*9.

Our Journey Toward 2030

We continue to introduce improvements in “Time-to-Hire” on Indeed through innovative AI solutions, reduced friction through the hiring process, and increased process automation, to help create a world where opportunities for life are available to all.