Job Posts Are the Purest Demand Signal
Most demand signals require interpretation. A job post does not: there is a problem, there is money, and there is urgency.
Last updated 2026-08-17
What a job post tells you that a complaint does not
A complaint tells you somebody is annoyed. A job post tells you somebody has moved money to fix it. That difference is the whole gap between a problem and a business.
It also tells you the price ceiling. If the role pays $3,000 a month, software that eliminates it can credibly charge a meaningful fraction of that.
What to look for
- Repetitive, well-specified tasks — 'copy data from X into Y each week'
- The same posting shape recurring across different companies
- Roles that exist purely to move information between two systems
- Contract work that keeps being re-posted, meaning nobody solved it properly
The limit of the signal
Some work is hired out precisely because it needs judgement. Automate the mechanical middle, not the parts that required a person for a reason — and read the posting carefully enough to tell which is which.