Top Frontline Industries by Demand and Wage Growth: Q1 2025 Report

Frontline workers are the backbone of the economy, and in the first quarter of 2025, frontline workers saw rising wages and growing job demand — with widening talent gaps across nearly every major industry.

To better understand the shifting labor market, Resume Now partnered with Talroo to deliver the Top Frontline Industries by Demand and Wage Growth: Q1 2025 Report. This report, based on data from January through March 2025, offers a snapshot of where job demand is growing fastest, which industries are facing the biggest hiring challenges, and where wages are climbing most rapidly. 

These insights come from Talroo's Frontline Worker Index, which analyzes job posting trends, resume supply, wage data, scheduling shifts, and the broader economic forces shaping today's frontline workforce. 

Key Findings

The 10 Frontline Industries With the Biggest Talent Gaps

These industries saw the largest mismatch between job postings (demand) and candidate supply (resumes) in Q1 2025. The top 10 industries with the biggest talent gaps, in order from highest to lowest:

1. Trucking 
2. Allied healthcare  
3. Caregiving  
4. Customer service   
5. Manufacturing 
6. Retail
7. Administrative  
8. Sales  
9. Food services  
10. Warehousing  

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What This Means: If you're considering a career shift or looking for job security, these industries are ripe with opportunity. Fewer applicants per job means employers may be more flexible on requirements, quicker to hire, and more open to negotiating pay or perks. Workers with relevant skills, certifications, or even transferable experience could find it easier to land roles and stand out in these high-demand fields.

"Despite continued uncertainty across sectors and broader economic concerns, the need for skilled frontline workers remains strong — and in many industries, it's growing," said Thad Price, CEO of Talroo. "From trucking to healthcare, employers are still struggling to fill essential roles that keep our communities running. This data provides a clear call to action: to invest in smarter recruiting strategies, support workforce development, and help more people connect with meaningful, high-demand jobs."

What the Data Tells Us About Frontline Hiring Demand

Looking deeper into the labor market for frontline employees, one can see that some industries are struggling more than others to fill open roles. By analyzing resumes per job post and comparing data year over year, it's clear where the biggest hiring pressures — and opportunities — exist.

1. Trucking – High Demand, Fewer Applicants

• The trucking industry continues to face a qualified labor shortage, resulting in fewer applicants per job and steady demand for new drivers.
• Job seekers with a CDL or logistics experience can find strong opportunities with competitive wages, although policy and economic changes in Q2 2025 may result in shifts.

2. Allied Healthcare & Caregiving – More Jobs, Fewer Candidates

• Hospitals, nursing homes, and home healthcare agencies are struggling to fill essential roles.
• Positions such as medical assistants, caregivers, and patient care technicians are seeing increased demand, creating more opportunities for job seekers with relevant skills or training.

3. Customer Service & Retail – Fewer Job Seekers, More Openings

• These industries continue to experience hiring challenges, as the number of active and qualified job seekers has dropped significantly compared to 2024.
• With fewer qualified applicants, job seekers may find faster interview timelines and better leverage in negotiating flexibility or wages — especially in urban markets.

4. Manufacturing & Warehousing – Still Hiring, But Improving Balance

• While these sectors remain in high demand, applicant availability has improved slightly compared to other industries.
• Despite being a particularly tumultuous policy time for this industry, job seekers with experience in logistics, production, or warehouse operations can still find ample opportunities.

5. Sales & Food Services – Shifting Landscapes

• Interest in sales and food service roles has declined, creating hiring difficulties for employers, although these trends will vary state-by-state.
• Job seekers considering these fields may have greater leverage in negotiating pay and schedules due to labor shortages or due to state regulations such as California's recent regulations of food service wages.

6. Administrative Roles – A Stable Job Market

• The admin sector maintains a steady balance of jobs and applicants.
• Data entry, scheduling, and support staff roles remain reliable.

What This Means: Whether you're switching careers or re-entering the workforce, this data can help guide your next move. Trucking, healthcare, and customer service roles offer strong opportunities for quick hires and better pay. Meanwhile, stable fields like administrative support offer consistency and security. Understanding where the demand is highest — and where you fit in — can help you focus your job search more effectively.

Where Wages Are Rising Fastest for Frontline Workers

Wage growth is one of the clearest signals of labor market shifts — and in Q1 2025, frontline industries saw notable gains. Six of the top 10 sectors reported hourly wage increases above the national average compensation growth of 3.8% (as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Ordered from highest to lowest, these are the top 10 most in-demand frontline industries by wage growth:

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What This Means: If you're in a frontline industry — or thinking of moving into one — now is a good time to look at your earning potential. Roles in trucking, warehousing, and administrative support saw double-digit pay increases, meaning job seekers may have better luck finding not just work, but higher wages. Even in sectors like caregiving and retail, pay is on the rise. This is your chance to explore higher-paying roles or renegotiate your current rate.

What's Driving Wage Increases in 2025

Several economic forces are pushing wages upward across frontline industries in early 2025. After a dip in wage growth in 2023, sectors like trucking and warehousing are rebounding with some of the largest pay increases seen since 2022.

• Trucking and Warehouse wages surged in Q1 2025 with double-digit wage spikes (16% and 15% growth), hitting new heights not seen since 2022. This followed a protracted softening of wages dating back to 2023. With these two industries anticipated to be impacted by tariffs and other social policies, it will be interesting to monitor how employers respond in Q2 2025.
  • Although trucking wages are challenging to analyze in aggregate — due to the industry's use of per-mile, per-diem, and other variable pay models — the wage increases reflected in the Frontline Worker Index align closely with recent industry data. These include the National Transportation Institute's report of the "strongest year-over-year gains in a year," the Driver Pay Index rising to 134, and TruckingDive's observation that pay in the 50-to-55 cent per mile range has become more prevalent for drivers with one to three years of experience.
• Administrative roles saw a 10% rise, reaching $22.13.
• Customer Service, Caregiving, and Retail saw similar gains, growing 10%, 8%, and 7% respectively.
• Allied Healthcare remained the highest-paying industry for frontline workers in Q1 2025, with an average hourly wage of $33.80, reflecting a modest 3% annual increase.
• Sales and Food Services experienced modest growth of 3%, reaching $16.95 and $16.13, respectively.
• Manufacturing was the only industry to see a (very) slight decline (-1%) in average frontline worker wages compared to Q1 2024, experiencing a turbulent start to 2025. It continues to grapple with the ripple effects of global tariffs and evolving social policies. Whether these measures will ultimately revitalize domestic manufacturing — and lift wages in the coming quarters — remains uncertain.

What This Means: Wage increases signal opportunity — especially in industries like trucking, warehousing, and administration. For workers, this is a moment to evaluate your skills and consider upskilling or transitioning into roles where compensation is rising. If you're in manufacturing or food services, it may be worth keeping an eye on policy developments or exploring adjacent roles where pay is currently trending up.

About Resume Now 

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Looking for a change of scenery? Our AI Resume Builder can help you land a new role by creating or updating your resume to meet the standards of the competitive job market.

About Talroo 

Talroo is a data-driven talent matching platform built to help businesses source and attract frontline and skilled trades workers that traditional job boards overlook. By leveraging real-time applicant tracking system (ATS) data and AI-driven technology, Talroo is reinventing the job board. Powering millions of job searches daily, Talroo optimizes hiring cost and outcomes through its proprietary Apply Intelligence™ technology, apply signals, and behavioral insights.

Recognized for innovation in talent acquisition, Talroo has earned multiple industry awards, including the Lighthouse Research & Advisory HR Tech Award and a Brandon Hall Group Gold Award for Excellence. Talroo has also been named a Leader in Recruitment Marketing and Easiest to Do Business With by G2 based on customer satisfaction and peer reviews. Learn more at www.talroo.com.

About Frontline Worker Index

The Frontline Worker Index (FWI) delivers near real-time insights into labor market dynamics for frontline and essential workers. Powered by Talroo's first-party data, the index processes 26 million job posts monthly, capturing 187 million data points across industries and regions. Analyzing trends in job supply and demand, wages, work schedules, education and experience requirements, and valued benefits, FWI equips HR professionals and recruiters with the data needed to attract, hire, and retain talent in a competitive market.  Learn more at www.talroo.com/talroo-frontline-worker-index/. 

Methodology

The rankings are based on Talroo's Frontline Worker Index, which tracks job posting demand, resume supply, wage trends, scheduling shifts, and the broader economic forces shaping the frontline labor market. Powered by Talroo's first-party data, the index processes 26 million job posts monthly, capturing 187 million data points across industries and regions.

For press inquiries, contact Joseph Santaella at joseph@resume-now.com.

Keith Spencer, CPRW

Career Expert

Keith is a Career Expert and content contributor for Resume Now. He is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with over a decade of experience in the career development field. Keith also holds a Master's of Education from Cabrini University.

Read more articles by Keith Spencer, CPRW