WeekdayDoc Hiring Index · Physician Assistants
Physician Assistant hiring index, October 2026: the specialties most in demand
Occupational Medicine was the tightest physician assistant specialty in October 2026: postings stayed open a median 35 days and 44% stated a sign-on bonus. Measured from live job postings across 50+ sources — share of openings in a fixed source panel, how long postings stay open, how often a sign-on bonus is stated, and job-seeker interest per opening on WeekdayDoc. 6 of 207 physician assistant specialties had enough postings and employers to be ranked.
Preliminary: October 2026 is still in progress. Figures update weekly until the month ends, then they are frozen.
Tightest specialty
Occupational Medicine
highest combined score across share change, seeker interest, time to close and sign-on prevalence
Median days a posting stays open
37
across 6 ranked specialties; postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed
Postings stating a sign-on bonus
24%
median across ranked specialties, this month's postings in the source panel
What changed in October 2026
- Tightest: Occupational Medicine, Family Medicine, Urgent Care, Orthopedic Surgery, Primary Care.
- Share movers: Family Medicine +5.5 pts; Surgery -3.7 pts; Urgent Care -3.4 pts; Orthopedic Surgery -2.1 pts; Occupational Medicine +1.6 pts.
- Slowest to fill: Family Medicine (52 days), Orthopedic Surgery (44 days), Surgery (40 days); median 37 days.
- Sign-on bonuses most common: Occupational Medicine (44%), Urgent Care (35%), Family Medicine (28%); median 24%.
- Loosest (most seeker competition on WeekdayDoc): Surgery, Primary Care, Orthopedic Surgery.
All ranked physician assistant specialties
Tightness is the average z-score of share change, seeker interest (inverted), days to close and sign-on prevalence. Interest: 1.0 = the physician assistant average on WeekdayDoc. Pay drift: advertised max on re-posted roles, one vote per employer.
| Specialty | Rank | Postings | Share | vs prior 3 mo | Interest | Days to close | Sign-on | Pay drift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Medicine | 1 | 81 | 5.3% | +1.6 pts | 0.4× | 35 | 44% | — |
| Family Medicine | 2 | 360 | 17.6% | +5.5 pts | 2.1× | 52 | 28% | — |
| Urgent Care | 3 | 110 | 4.2% | -3.4 pts | 0.3× | 29 | 35% | — |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 4 | 62 | 4.4% | -2.1 pts | 1.0× | 44 | 10% | — |
| Primary Care | 5 | 179 | 9.5% | +0.5 pts | 1.5× | 34 | 20% | 0.0% |
| Surgery | 6 | 89 | 6.1% | -3.7 pts | 0.7× | 40 | 6% | 0.0% |
201 further specialties had too few postings or employers to rank. Download this table as CSV.
Charts
Questions this issue answers
Which physician assistant specialties were most in demand in October 2026?
Ranked by WeekdayDoc's tightness score (share change, seeker interest per opening, days to close and sign-on prevalence), the tightest physician assistant specialties in October 2026 were 1. Occupational Medicine, 2. Family Medicine, 3. Urgent Care, 4. Orthopedic Surgery, 5. Primary Care. 6 specialties had enough postings (60+) from enough employers (12+) to be ranked.
Which physician assistant jobs take longest to fill?
Among physician assistant postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed, the longest median time open in October 2026 was Family Medicine (52 days), Orthopedic Surgery (44 days), Surgery (40 days), Occupational Medicine (35 days), Primary Care (34 days). The median across ranked specialties was 37 days.
Which physician assistant specialties offer sign-on bonuses most often?
In October 2026, the share of postings stating a sign-on bonus was highest for Occupational Medicine (44%), Urgent Care (35%), Family Medicine (28%), Primary Care (20%), Orthopedic Surgery (10%); the median ranked specialty was 24%. "Stated" means the posting mentions a bonus; many do not give the amount.
Which physician assistant specialties are growing or shrinking as a share of postings?
Measured inside a fixed panel of job sources, with each source weighted equally and counting distinct openings rather than duplicate listings, the largest moves in October 2026 versus the prior three-month average were Family Medicine +5.5 pts, Surgery -3.7 pts, Urgent Care -3.4 pts, Orthopedic Surgery -2.1 pts, Occupational Medicine +1.6 pts. Shares, not raw counts, are used because the number of listings WeekdayDoc collects changes with its coverage.
Which physician assistant specialties had the most competition from other job seekers?
The loosest physician assistant markets in October 2026 were Surgery, Primary Care, Orthopedic Surgery: more job seekers per opening on WeekdayDoc, faster closes and fewer sign-on bonuses. Seeker interest reflects WeekdayDoc's own audience and is reported only when clearly above or below the physician assistant average.
Is advertised physician assistant pay rising?
WeekdayDoc compares re-posted roles (same employer, specialty and title, at least 60 days apart), one vote per employer. In October 2026, of 2 specialties with enough re-posts, 2 showed an unchanged advertised maximum and 0 showed an increase of 2% or more. Employers re-posting a role mostly advertise the same range.
How is the WeekdayDoc Hiring Index calculated?
From live job postings on WeekdayDoc (about 145,000 across 50+ sources). Share of openings is measured inside a fixed panel of sources present in every month of the window, each source weighted equally (capped), counting distinct openings (employer + title + state). Days to close uses postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have closed. Sign-on prevalence is the share of this month's postings stating a bonus. Seeker interest is job views per live posting relative to the profession average on WeekdayDoc. Specialties need 60+ postings from 12+ employers to be ranked. Full method: https://www.weekdaydoc.com/hiring-index/methodology.
How should I cite this?
"WeekdayDoc Hiring Index, Physician Assistants, October 2026" with a link to this page. Figures on a published issue do not change; the current month is marked preliminary until it ends.
Method and citation
Shares are measured inside a fixed panel of sources present in every month of the window, with each source weighted equally (capped), and count distinct openings (employer + title + state), not rows. Days to close: median lifespan of postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed. Sign-on: share of this month's postings stating a bonus (amount often not given). Seeker interest: job views per live posting relative to the physician assistant average on WeekdayDoc — our audience, so it is labelled as such. Pay drift: advertised maximum on re-posted roles (same employer, specialty and title, 60+ days apart), one vote per employer. Specialties need 60+ postings from 12+ employers to be ranked. Full methodology.
Cite as: WeekdayDoc Hiring Index, Physician Assistants, October 2026 — https://www.weekdaydoc.com/hiring-index/physician-assistants/2026-10. Data: CC BY 4.0 with attribution.