Job-posting freshness research method

Q: What should the research method define before analysis?

Define the question, population, sample, observation period, inclusion rules, exclusions, and outcome before inspecting patterns.

Q: How should personal data be protected?

Use only data needed for the question, limit access and retention, and aggregate or suppress groups that could identify a person.

Q: Can an observed pattern become a hiring rule?

No. Report uncertainty and plausible alternatives, and keep observation separate from recommendation or prediction.

Q: When should the method be reviewed again?

Review it when the source, sample, definition, product behavior, or observation window changes, and keep the review date visible.

See the proposed inputs, sampling rules, exclusions, privacy safeguards, and reporting limits for job-posting freshness research method. No aggregate claim is published until the required evidence and review threshold is met.

Check current job postings

Methodology explains a preparation signal; it does not turn the result into a hiring prediction.

A posting is fresh only when the exact source was checked recently

Track the canonical job URL, first seen date, last verified date, material changes, and closure signal. Labour statistics cannot verify whether one posting is still open.

When was this exact posting last verified, and what changed since it first appeared?

Verified public facts

830 approximatelyOccupations covered2026-08-27

The May 2025 OEWS release provides employment and wage estimates for approximately 830 occupations across national, state, metropolitan, nonmetropolitan, and selected industry views.

How to use it: Occupation-and-location wage context, with the release period shown.
What this data cannot establish: A company-specific salary, a candidate-specific offer, or current job-posting demand.

Synthetic freshness example

Synthetic example for interpretation practice—not an observed Refresh result.

Scenario input: Example only: a posting published 10 days before retrieval is 10 days old at collection, not necessarily still open today.
Calculation and interpretation: Keep publication date, retrieval date, and current check separate.
Decision this supports: Use the age to schedule rechecks
Comparability limit: Never merge it with records that use “last updated” as the starting date.

Research protocol and unpublished result fields

How the data is handled

Keep the canonical URL
Prefer the employer or original recruiter page and store syndication URLs separately.
Recheck the source
Record the HTTP and page state, application control, content fingerprint, and visible closure message at each verification.

Definitions that travel with the result

Last verified: The latest date the canonical posting was reachable and its material content was checked.
Material change: A change to employer, role, location, employment type, responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, or application state.

Results that still require observed data

Posting verification record

Is the canonical posting reachable, materially unchanged, and still accepting applications?

Awaiting observed data

Required result fields

Source URL
The exact page or record used for the observation.
string · required
Publisher
The organisation responsible for the source.
string · required
First seen at
The first date the exact posting URL was observed.
date · required
Last seen at
The most recent date the posting remained reachable and materially unchanged.
date · required
Source updated at
The update or filing date stated by the source, when available.
date
Category
A documented category with a stable definition.
string · required
Metric definition
The exact inclusion, exclusion, and calculation rule.
string · required

Publish only when: Show freshness only after a source recheck; display the last verified date beside the status.
Awaiting observed data: Freshness has not been verified recently. Open the original posting before applying.

What this data cannot establish

A reachable page may be paused, evergreen, or no longer reviewed by the employer.
A removed page can be a URL migration rather than proof that the role was filled.

How to use it

Treat the last verified date as a prompt to open the source, not as a guarantee.

Official data sources

Occupational Employment and Wage StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics2026-08-27
Coverage
Employment and wage estimates by occupation, geography, and industry, published with an annual May reference date.
Boundary
OEWS estimates cover wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments. They do not represent a specific company offer or an individual candidate.

Career evidence research methods

Review proposed samples, exclusions, privacy safeguards, and reporting thresholds before refresh.cv publishes aggregate career findings.

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Job-search market research method

See the proposed inputs, sampling rules, exclusions, privacy safeguards, and reporting limits for job-search market research method. No aggregate claim is published until the required evidence and review threshold is met.

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Frequently asked questions

What should the research method define before analysis?

How should personal data be protected?

Can an observed pattern become a hiring rule?

When should the method be reviewed again?

Read the result with its method and limits.

Use the relevant methodology before deciding which finding to act on.

Check current job postings