Set more informed hiring expectations before sourcing begins. Compare local talent supply, industry demand and occupational requirements in one Excel scorecard.
Market Difficulty Intelligence hosted refresh access: Purchase includes at least 12 months of hosted refresh access to the datasets included with this version, updated as the sources release new data. Future premium feeds are sold separately.
Data update schedule: BLS OEWS wage and employment estimates update annually; JOLTS hiring-demand data updates monthly. Refresh retrieves the latest validated release available through Hire Logix, which may be unchanged since your last refresh. About source updates.
Example: Data Scientists in Lexington-Fayette, KY. Captured from the workbook; values illustrate one selection, not a forecast guarantee. Open full size ↗
BLS OEWS · BLS JOLTS · O*NET
A clearer basis for your next decision
A market difficulty score
A 0–100 score brings four signals together. Review the underlying contributions instead of relying on a single unexplained rating.
A planning estimate
Use the estimated time to fill as a starting point for your search plan. Your process, offer and sourcing approach still matter.
Visible assumptions
Review source periods, the scoring engine and adjustable weights. Compare your budget with available local wage benchmarks.
A worked example
What a score of 75 tells you.
In the workbook example, Data Scientists in Lexington-Fayette score 75 / 100: Difficult.
The local occupation has a location quotient of 0.47: a smaller share of employment than the national share. Alongside talent volume and the other signals, this points to a search that deserves deliberate planning.
The model estimates 73 days to fill. Use that as a discussion starter when setting a target, allocating sourcing effort and reviewing the offer—not as a promised completion date.
Talent supplyLocal occupational employment
Demand pressureNational industry job openings
Local concentrationOEWS location quotient
Structural requirementsO*NET Job Zone and Bright Outlook
Try a market before you buy
How difficult is your next hire?
Choose a role, location and your company’s industry. Get a compact scorecard using the workbook’s default scoring model and our published data.
One complimentary analysis per browser every 30 days. No email, Excel or license key required.
Difficulty / 100
Local occupational employment
Median annual pay
What’s behind the result
Employment is not a count of available candidates. Pay is context, not an input to the difficulty score. This model supports planning; it does not predict your individual hiring outcome.
Take the full picture into Excel
Explore additional markets, inspect all four signal contributions, adjust assumptions and review budget positioning and a time-to-fill planning estimate.
The preview uses the workbook’s default weights and static O*NET reference. Custom workbook weights will produce different results. Some occupation and market combinations have insufficient published data; those attempts do not use your complimentary preview.
We save a random browser identifier, your selected occupation, market, industry and result for up to 30 days to make your result available and limit repeat previews. We do not ask for your name or email. Your IP address is used temporarily for abuse protection and is not saved in the preview record. Clearing browser storage can remove access to your saved result. The preview may briefly limit requests from a shared network during heavy use.
See it in action
From setup to scorecard in under two minutes
Watch the Market Difficulty walkthrough, from choosing your inputs to reviewing the hiring scorecard.
Inside the workbook
Worksheet / area
What you use it for
Scorecard
Difficulty, interpretation, planning estimate and dated signal breakdown.
Setup
Select a job family, role, market and industry; enter budget and license details.
Difficulty
Trace source inputs, sub-scores and contributions.
Advanced
Adjust model assumptions and weights manually.
Getting started
Start with three steps
Open in the Excel desktop app
Review the workbook’s setup instructions and choose a supported role and market or school search.
Enter your license
Paste your purchase license on Setup, then choose Data → Refresh All. You do not need your own federal API keys.
Check the result
Review the status and source periods. For Salary and Campus, inspect Refresh Details if a key, selection or connection needs attention.
Know what the numbers mean
Scores combine official data with Hire Logix model choices. OEWS coverage varies and some values are suppressed. JOLTS measures national industry demand, not local job postings. O*NET reference attributes are static in this release. Advanced weights are manually adjustable; the workbook does not train itself on your hiring history.
Hire Logix Labs