CompTIA’s Job Seeker Trends provides insights into job seekers' desired career pathways and the strategies they use to advance to the next stage of their career journey. This 10th biannual wave of research was conducted in January 2026. A total of 1,000 U.S. job seekers and 1,000 U.S. non-job seekers participated in the study, for a total of 2,200+ respondents.
Across the U.S. labor market, approximately 31% - representing 53 million workers – engaged in some type of job-seeking activity during the past 90 days. This figure is slightly higher than the long-term mean rate of 29%. The uptick likely reflects elements of the “K-shaped” economy, whereby segments of job seekers are optimistic about employer hiring and their career change prospects heading into the year, while others are feeling the opposite and may have increased their job seeking activity out of fear and the desire for greater job security.
Job seeker sentiment toward the labor market is similar to one year ago, with a weighted average of 55; identical to the score of January 2025. Compared to job seekers, non-job seekers (those content with their current employment) report greater net positive sentiment about the state of the labor market. For transitions into new careers, job seekers continue to rate industry-recognized certifications as the most viable stepping stone to improving their prospects without a 4-year degree.
Job seekers across the demographic spectrum rate the critical importance of digital skills and career readiness in today’s labor market. The net 87% rating digital skills as important to any career pursuit reflects the past and future phases of the digital transformation of economies around the world.
Artificial intelligence (AI) fundamentals continue to rank as the top skill job seekers plan to learn and develop, consistent with prior waves. While fundamental skills are interconnected, with one building on another to drive workplace outcomes,, AI’s position as a core skill confirms the pervasive interest among employers and workers. Nearly 4 in 10 believe AI will be both a positive and a threat to jobs and wages. In comparison, equal percentages (21%) rate AI a positive or a threat to jobs and wages.
Almost half of non-job seekers categorized as the Skills Intent – those most committed to further building their skills for career maintenance or career advancement. Another 28% fall into the Skills Curious segment. Across these segments, most workers have expectations for employer support in using AI on the job. When asked what they most want from employers, employees prioritize training on how to use AI tools effectively in their role, clear guidance and policies on appropriate use, and reassurance that responsible use of AI will not put their job at greater risk. Time during work hours to practice with AI, as well as access to employer approved AI tools, are also important to a considerable proportion of workers.
Interest in technology careers remains solid and consistent with the prior wave. In the January 2026 survey, tech roles again rank 4th among career fields under consideration. Among the Skills Intent segment, digital fluency, project management, and technical skills such as cybersecurity, cloud, and coding are among the most valued skills for career growth.
Please note this is an excerpt, and the full report contains more details.
Methodology
CompTIA’s Job Seeker Trends study was conducted via a quantitative survey fielded online during January 9-15, 2026. The data was weighted to approximate a target sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. The full survey sample of n=2,296 was evenly segmented between active job seekers and non-seekers. The n=1,000 segmentations have an approximate margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
The survey was administrated by the research firm Morning Consult.
Within the context of this study, job seekers are defined as adults who have looked for a new job within their current or most recent career field or explored new jobs in a different career field in the past 3 months. Note: the data suggests some respondents interpreted ‘new career’ pathway as a new job role within an existing field (e.g. transitioning from an IT support role to a cybersecurity role). Overall, this had little effect on the key themes of the findings.
CompTIA, Inc. is a member of the market research industry’s Insights Association and adheres to its internationally respected Code of Standards. Any questions regarding the study should be directed to CompTIA Research and Market Intelligence staff at research@comptia.org.
Read more about tech industry sectors.