Recruiter wellbeing index · 2026
The Recruiter Burnout Map
Where talent acquisition teams are quietly drowning — and where the function is healthiest. Composite index 0–100 across 16 regions, blended from workplace data and recruiter community sentiment.
Burnout score by region
California
US
81
34 reqs41% leaving
Greater London
UK
79
32 reqs39% leaving
New York
US
78
31 reqs38% leaving
Washington
US
76
30 reqs36% leaving
Singapore
SG
74
29 reqs35% leaving
Madrid
ES
73
28 reqs34% leaving
Milan
IT
72
27 reqs33% leaving
Paris
FR
71
27 reqs31% leaving
Texas
US
69
27 reqs32% leaving
Manchester
UK
67
25 reqs29% leaving
Sydney
AU
66
25 reqs30% leaving
Munich
DE
65
24 reqs27% leaving
Illinois
US
64
24 reqs28% leaving
Berlin
DE
62
22 reqs24% leaving
Amsterdam
NL
58
21 reqs22% leaving
Stockholm
SE
49
18 reqs17% leaving
Critical (75+)
Strained (55–74)
Healthy (<55)
What the data tells us
- · The Nordics consistently sit at the bottom of the burnout ranking — and at the top of the internal-mobility one. The two are not unrelated.
- · Anywhere a recruiter holds more than 28 active reqs, attrition intent crosses 30%. Treat 25 reqs as the soft ceiling.
- · Tech-heavy regions (California, London, Singapore) show the highest scores — high pay, high churn, high reqs-per-head.
- · The single best predictor of low burnout in this dataset is not pay. It's whether the team has a structured talent-pool play.