GUAYNABO, P.R., September 14, 2026 – Some job titles are remarkably sticky, following people from one employer to the next. According to Volume 1 of Monster’s Workforce Mobility Report, 63% of 990,922 resume-observed position changes ending in 20 high-volume roles retained the exact same job title.
In this dataset, a position change is recorded when an individual changes employers, job titles or both. Because the title remained the same in nearly two-thirds of the observed transitions, those transitions reflect movement to a new employer without a change in the recorded title. The pattern held across every role analyzed, with same-title rates ranging from 55% to 72%.
For this analysis, Monster describes a title as “sticky” when a high percentage of transitions into that role came from a position with the exact same recorded title.
“A new job can be a significant career move even when the title stays the same,” said Monster career expert Vicki Salemi. “Someone may continue doing similar work while pursuing better pay, stronger benefits, a more manageable schedule, greater stability or a healthier work environment. Career mobility is not always visible in the title alone.”
Key Findings
-
Nearly two-thirds of position changes retained the same title: Of the 990,922 transitions analyzed, 63% kept the exact same job title, while 37% involved a different recorded title.
-
Every job title studied was sticky: In all 20 destination roles, more than half of observed transitions came from a position with the exact same title.
-
Healthcare support roles ranked among the stickiest: Certified Nursing Assistant had the highest exact same-title rate at 72%, followed by Medical Assistant at 71%.
-
Hospitality titles also showed strong continuity: Bartender ranked third at 70%, followed by Server at 67%.
-
Transportation titles had some of the lowest exact-match rates: Delivery Driver had the lowest exact same-title rate at 55%. Driver and Caregiver tied for the next-lowest rate at 56%.
Healthcare Support and Hospitality Have the Stickiest Titles
Certified Nursing Assistant was the stickiest job title in the analysis, with 72% of transitions into CNA positions coming from another position with the exact same title. Medical Assistant followed closely at 71%.
Hospitality roles also demonstrated high levels of title continuity. Bartender ranked third at 70%, while Server ranked fourth at 67%. Crew Member rounded out the five stickiest titles at 66%.
The complete ranking:
|
Rank |
Destination job title |
Same-title transitions |
Same-title rate |
|
1 |
Certified Nursing Assistant |
30,167 |
72% |
|
2 |
Medical Assistant |
21,575 |
71% |
|
3 |
Bartender |
21,772 |
70% |
|
4 |
Server |
48,952 |
67% |
|
5 |
Crew Member |
38,682 |
66% |
|
6 |
Cashier |
63,322 |
66% |
|
7 |
Administration Assistant |
18,342 |
64% |
|
8 |
Customer Service Representative |
40,821 |
63% |
|
9 |
Security Officer |
18,986 |
63% |
|
10 |
Barista |
16,738 |
63% |
|
11 |
Manager |
53,970 |
62% |
|
12 |
Team Member |
24,252 |
62% |
|
13 |
Laborer |
16,865 |
62% |
|
14 |
Sales |
50,312 |
61% |
|
15 |
Receptionist |
22,281 |
60% |
|
16 |
Cook |
18,783 |
60% |
|
17 |
Warehouse Associate |
21,938 |
58% |
|
18 |
Driver |
23,624 |
56% |
|
19 |
Caregiver |
28,022 |
56% |
|
20 |
Delivery Driver |
41,009 |
55% |
Rankings are based on unrounded rates. Displayed percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Job titles are presented as recorded in the source data.
Even the title with the lowest exact-match rate retained the same recorded title in more than half of observed transitions. This suggests that employer-to-employer movement without a recorded title change is not limited to one type of work. It appears across frontline, service, administrative, transportation and healthcare support roles.
Employers Are Competing for Workers Who Already Hold These Titles
Across the 20 roles, 620,413 observed position changes retained the exact same recorded title. The remaining 370,509, or 37%, came from a different recorded title.
The volume of same-title movement suggests that employers are frequently competing for people who already perform the role they are trying to fill. A cashier may become a cashier for another company, a server may move to another restaurant and a medical assistant may take the same title to a different healthcare employer.
While the analysis does not measure why individuals changed employers, factors such as compensation, scheduling, benefits, management, workplace culture and advancement opportunities may help candidates distinguish between employers offering similar work.
For employers, the findings connect recruitment and retention. The experienced candidates one organization hopes to attract may be leaving the same job at another organization.
Differentiating the employment experience may therefore be as important as communicating the role itself.
A Sticky Title Does Not Mean a Stagnant Career
Retaining the same title does not mean that someone’s circumstances, responsibilities or career prospects remained unchanged. Positions with the same title can differ considerably in compensation, hours, location, working conditions, scope and opportunities for advancement.
Similarly, a recorded title change does not always represent a meaningful occupational change. Variations such as “Certified Nurses Aide” and “Certified Nursing Assistant,” or “Certified Medical Assistant” and “Medical Assistant,” may describe closely related work despite appearing as different titles in resume data.
The exact-match methodology may therefore understate the broader level of occupational continuity. For that reason, the findings describe recorded title-to-title transitions rather than measuring promotions, career advancement or movement between occupations.
For more information, please view the full report at https://www.monster.com/career-advice/research/stickiest-job-titles or contact Shanna Briggs at [email protected].
About the Monster Workforce Mobility Report
The Monster Workforce Mobility Report is a multi-volume analysis examining how workers move among employers and job titles. Based on 990,922 resume-observed position changes recorded from January through July 2026, Volume 1 examines transitions that retained the same recorded title, while Volume 2 will examine movement between different titles.
Methodology
Monster analyzed 990,922 resume-observed position changes recorded from January through July 2026. The analysis was limited to transitions ending in the 20 highest-volume destination job titles available in the dataset.
Resumes were tracked over time, with changes producing “from” and “to” values for job title, employer, and location. A change in job title, employer, or both was counted as a position change. A single resume or individual could contribute more than one transition during the analysis period. Accordingly, the unit of analysis was position changes, not unique workers.
Same-title transitions were based on exact matches between the recorded “from” and “to” job titles. Differently worded titles may represent similar or equivalent occupations but were counted as different unless their recorded title strings matched exactly.
The 990,922 position changes represent transitions ending in the 20 roles analyzed, not all position changes captured in the dataset. Because data for additional destination titles was unavailable, the findings should not be generalized to all job titles, all position changes, or the broader U.S. workforce.
About Monster
Monster is a global leader in online job searching, resume building, and employment solutions. For over 30 years, the company has been a trusted authority for both job seekers and companies. Beyond the job search, Monster provides an intuitive Resume Builder and hundreds of resume templates to help candidates stand out against the competition, while offering employers a comprehensive resume database to source top talent. As a G2 category leader, Monster has been featured in Forbes, CNBC, CNN, and USA Today, sharing the career advice needed to bridge the gap between job seekers and hiring managers.
