We tag each posting as coming from a staffing agency or recruiter, or from the employer directly, and compare how often each side states pay. Agencies are a small slice of the index — and a noticeably more transparent one. We report the measured difference, not the motive.
| Measure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Postings from agencies or recruiters | 6.2% | of everything we index |
| Agency postings that state pay | 19.4% | against 12.4% across all postings |
| Difference between the two | 7.0 points | measured, not causal |
| Ranges wider than $50k (all postings) | 11.1% | a range, but not a usable one |
In our index, yes: 19.4% of agency and recruiter postings state a pay figure, against 12.4% across all postings.
From the employer name (recruiting, staffing, personnel, placement, headhunting, and a list of known agencies) and from applicant-tracking systems used mainly by staffing firms. Everything else counts as a direct employer — so the agency share is a floor, not a ceiling.
No. It measures who writes a number into the ad. Agencies often recruit for roles where the client has already set the band, and some markets require disclosure. We report the difference, not the reason.
Need a different cut? Every figure on this page comes from one index, so we can extract almost any slice on request — a city, a role, an industry, a time window, or a comparison between platforms. Tell us what you need at [email protected] and we will pull it, publish it with its method, and hand you the numbers. All we ask in return is a citation.
“Still listed” is a listing-age measure from the source publish date, not a verification that a role is open; link liveness is measured separately. The percentages are the September 2026 edition (full pass, measured 2026-09-15); the index counts are rebuilt by every nightly update, most recently 2026-09-20. Page generated 2026-09-21.