{"h1":"Industries with the most contract roles","faq":[{"a":"Professional Services & Consulting leads: 5.96% of its professional openings are contract roles, against 1.02% across all industries.","q":"Which industry ranks first: industries with the most contract roles?"},{"a":"15 industries have at least 1,000 openings, so the list has 15 entries.","q":"How many industries are ranked?"},{"a":"A industry's score is the share of its open professional roles that the posting describes as contract (a fixed-term engagement rather than an employee role). Only industries with at least 1,000 openings and 20 such roles are ranked. These roles are a small part of the board (about 0.5% for fractional and interim), so shares are small and move with a few postings. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Professional Services & Consulting leads: 5.96% of its professional openings are contract roles, against 1.02% across all industries.","minN":1000,"rows":[{"n":20546,"bar":1,"key":"industry:professional_services","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/professional-services-and-consulting","name":"Professional Services & Consulting","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"1,224"},{"label":"All openings","value":"20,546"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"71"}],"value":0.05957363963788572,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"5.96%"},{"n":7482,"bar":0.2781953376556895,"key":"industry:media","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/media-and-entertainment","name":"Media & Entertainment","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"124"},{"label":"All openings","value":"7,482"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"8"}],"value":0.01657310879443999,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"1.66%"},{"n":10424,"bar":0.2270547416971393,"key":"industry:government","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/government-and-public-sector","name":"Government & Public Sector","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"141"},{"label":"All openings","value":"10,424"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"37"}],"value":0.0135264773599386,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"1.35%"},{"n":77229,"bar":0.1684485035041783,"key":"industry:technology","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/technology-and-software","name":"Technology & Software","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"775"},{"label":"All openings","value":"77,229"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"41"}],"value":0.01003509044529905,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"1.00%"},{"n":14885,"bar":0.1240479844384288,"key":"industry:life_sciences","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-biotech","name":"Pharmaceuticals & Biotech","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"110"},{"label":"All openings","value":"14,885"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"6"}],"value":0.007389989922741014,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.74%"},{"n":6679,"bar":0.1231488902393317,"key":"industry:logistics","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/transportation-and-logistics","name":"Transportation & Logistics","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"49"},{"label":"All openings","value":"6,679"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"3"}],"value":0.007336427608923492,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.73%"},{"n":10385,"bar":0.1212273546876623,"key":"industry:energy","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/energy-and-utilities","name":"Energy & Utilities","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"75"},{"label":"All openings","value":"10,385"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"8"}],"value":0.007221954742416947,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.72%"},{"n":7716,"bar":0.1131245828208595,"key":"industry:nonprofit","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/non-profit-and-social-impact","name":"Non-profit & Social Impact","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"52"},{"label":"All openings","value":"7,716"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"57"}],"value":0.00673924313115604,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.67%"},{"n":33514,"bar":0.1096891612167932,"key":"industry:healthcare","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/healthcare-and-hospital-systems","name":"Healthcare & Hospital Systems","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"219"},{"label":"All openings","value":"33,514"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"160"}],"value":0.006534582562511189,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.65%"},{"n":34807,"bar":0.09934510956871233,"key":"industry:financial_services","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/financial-services-and-banking","name":"Financial Services & Banking","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"206"},{"label":"All openings","value":"34,807"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"25"}],"value":0.005918349757232741,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.59%"},{"n":15207,"bar":0.08389110450080824,"key":"industry:education","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/education-and-edtech","name":"Education & EdTech","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"76"},{"label":"All openings","value":"15,207"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"58"}],"value":0.004997698428355363,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.50%"},{"n":5160,"bar":0.07156799412271368,"key":"industry:real_estate","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/construction-and-real-estate","name":"Construction & Real Estate","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"22"},{"label":"All openings","value":"5,160"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"4"}],"value":0.004263565891472868,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.43%"},{"n":20538,"bar":0.06456762436853859,"key":"industry:aerospace_defense","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/aerospace-and-defense","name":"Aerospace & Defense","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"79"},{"label":"All openings","value":"20,538"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"2"}],"value":0.003846528386405687,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.38%"},{"n":22550,"bar":0.06103980986333928,"key":"industry:consumer","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/retail-and-e-commerce","name":"Retail & E-commerce","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"82"},{"label":"All openings","value":"22,550"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"106"}],"value":0.003636363636363636,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.36%"},{"n":44886,"bar":0.06020891996834974,"key":"industry:industrial","sub":"Industry","href":"/industries/manufacturing-and-industrial","name":"Manufacturing & Industrial","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Contract openings","value":"161"},{"label":"All openings","value":"44,886"},{"label":"Fractional and interim","value":"16"}],"value":0.003586864501180769,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"0.36%"}],"slug":"industries-with-the-most-contract-roles","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Industries with the most contract roles","family":"Work arrangements","method":["A industry's score is the share of its open professional roles that the posting describes as contract (a fixed-term engagement rather than an employee role).","Only industries with at least 1,000 openings and 20 such roles are ranked. These roles are a small part of the board (about 0.5% for fractional and interim), so shares are small and move with a few postings. Only roles verified on the employer's own career site in the last week are counted."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:39:09.026Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"ef_contract","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles on employer career sites, verified in the last week"],"baseline":{"label":"all industries","valueLabel":"1.02%"},"keyFacts":["#1 Professional Services & Consulting, Industry: 5.96%","#2 Media & Entertainment, Industry: 1.66%","#3 Government & Public Sector, Industry: 1.35%","15 industries ranked across all industries","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"industries","commentary":["The lead is wide: Professional Services & Consulting (5.96%) is well clear of Financial Services & Banking at #10 (0.59%).","Transportation & Logistics reaches #6 on a sample of 6,679 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Technology & Software is the largest market in the top ten, with 77,229 openings behind its figure.","Industries with fewer than 1,000 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/industries-with-the-most-contract-roles"}