Hiring plans to remain steady in second half of 2026

Despite an uncertain economy, most employers are staying steady on hiring, a new HR Brew survey suggests.

Holding steady. More than half (64%) of the 200+ people professionals surveyed by HR Brew in June said that their hiring outlook for the second half of 2026 was about the same as that for the first half of the year, while 16% expect to hire more, and 11% expect to hire less. Their responses are reflective of the current labor market, as employers in most sectors have seen little to no job growth on a monthly basis.

One-third (34%) of respondents plan to make between one and four hires, 14% plan to make five to nine hires, and 12% expect 10 to 25. The most common roles HR pros expect to hire for include those in sales and business development (43%, a significant jump from just 34% last year), customer support and success (38%) and operations and logistics (35%). Executive and leadership (14%), legal and compliance (11%), and design and UX (7.27%) were the least common.

Under pressure. While hiring plans seem to be holding steady, some respondents indicated that they are not immune to uncertainty and business change. When asked about factors affecting hiring plans, the largest cohort of respondents said budget changes (45%), followed by changes in organization priorities or structure (33% and 30%, respectively), and economic uncertainty (27%).

It seems the economic issues dominating headlines are having little influence on employers’ hiring plans. Just 3% of respondents expect tariff policy to affect their TA strategy, making it the least-cited issue, followed by gas prices (6%) and the US-Israel war with Iran (6%).

Industry trends are also affecting hiring, with respondents citing a slowdown (24%) or growth (21%) as another reason for changing plans.

Around 22% expect to see increased competition for talent in the second half of the year. When it comes to recruiting that talent, 39% anticipate limited hiring budget or headcount approvals to pose a challenge, second only to candidates expecting hiring pay or better perks (45%).

Pressure to make the right hire while cutting down on bloated time-to-hire is a challenge 35% of respondents anticipate in the second half of 2026, while 30% worry they will net fewer qualified candidates, and 18% expect some internal misalignment on hiring needs.

And despite all the talk of AI-generated applications (or candidates) and the headaches they create for TA teams, just 17% said it’s likely to be a challenge, though that’s up slightly from 13% last year.