From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.

HR Brew

Amanda Schiavo

hr-brew.com

A woman hanging a help wanted sign in a window.

February BLS JOLTS report shows small changes since January 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest JOLTS data highlights a “historically tight” labor market, according to one expert.

What HR should know about the February JOLTS report

Mikaela Cohen

Generative ai hand reaching out from a web browser accepting a job application

Looking beyond the résumé: How talent pros can lean into skills-based hiring

“If we’re becoming a bit more innovative…then we won’t rely only on a document that speaks to past experience,” East Side Staffing’s Laura Mazzullo tells HR Brew.

The Kaseya logo against a green backdrop.

Tech company Kaseya credits YOY drop in attrition to its RTO policy  

“We believe that being in-person creates and fosters a collaboration that you just can’t get remotely,” Kasey’s Head of Global Recruitment Eric Lund tells HR Brew.

Tech company Kaseya credits YOY drop in attrition to its RTO policy

A magnifying glass icon denoting HR recruitment and retention

Recruitment & Retention

An illustration of a photo of HR Brew reporter Paige McGlauflin.

Paige McGlauflin

The worst hiring practice Kasey Harboe Guentert has witnessed is lacking a clear hiring plan.

Harboe Guentert is an executive consultant at HR consultancy APTMetrics, where she helps employers make “smart, fair, and data-driven decisions when building their teams.” She is also the co-author of 

, which helps employers better recruit, assess, and select candidates.

“Every new requisition shows up and the hiring manager just does it all by themselves, without any support necessarily,” Harboe Guentert said. “The way they actually conduct the interview and the questions they ask and how they evaluate the capabilities of the candidate, it's just completely random.”

It’s a practice she says is “unfortunately still common,” and one that ultimately hurts hiring managers and their teams. Inarticulate hiring processes can be time consuming, Harboe Guentert said. Even if hiring managers ask good questions, without objective criteria to evaluate candidates, they can end up choosing candidates based on personal feelings (aka, 

Hiring managers typically have a good understanding of what success looks like in the job they’re hiring for, even if they haven’t formally communicated that. But encouraging them to focus on that “will get them away from the: “Can you sell me this pen?” or, “do I have a beer with this person?” of question,” Harboe Guentert said.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?

One of the most meaningful changes I led at Airbnb was building out structured, role-specific definitions of what success looks like for jobs like software engineers, machine learning engineers, customer support, or members of our trust team. These definitions, called competencies, helped us create a shared language for evaluating talent, making hiring and promotion decisions fairer, more transparent, and more consistent. It aligned teams around expectations and gave people a clearer path to grow.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

That my work is just about writing job descriptions or checking boxes in the hiring process. In reality, it’s about shaping how companies define success, grow talent, and make decisions that affect real people’s careers. I use research, data, and deep collaboration to build systems that help organizations hire and develop fairly and strategically. It’s not just HR—it’s business-critical design.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?

I’m deeply curious about what people actually do at work. Not just their job titles or high-level responsibilities, but how they think, solve problems, and create value every day. When I’m learning about a role, I go deep below the surface. I ask about the moments that make someone’s work satisfying or frustrating, what decisions they have to make, who they rely on, and what great performance looks like in their context.

I’ve sat with software engineers walking me through code reviews, listened to customer service reps explain how they balance empathy with policy, and talked with trust and safety team members about the ethical choices baked into their daily work. I ask questions until I can picture myself in the role, not to do it, but to understand it well enough to build systems that reflect its complexity and value.

This kind of deep listening and analysis helps me design fairer, clearer talent practices. But more than that, it reflects what drives me: I care about people’s work. I think what people do every day matters. And I believe that understanding those details—really understanding them—is the first step to making work better.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?

The growing recognition that how we define, hire, and develop talent really matters, not just to companies, but to people’s lives. There’s a shift happening toward more intentional, evidence-based, and human-centered approaches to work. We’re seeing more organizations invest in clarity, fairness, and transparency—not as afterthoughts, but as core to good business.

I’m especially hopeful about the increasing collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and technologists. When we bring together data, design, and deep understanding of jobs, we can build systems that work better. That gives me hope for a future where people are seen more fully for what they bring, and where career paths are clearer and more inclusive.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?

I’m least optimistic about the decline in thoughtful, open discussion around diversity, equity, and inclusion. These conversations have become more politicized and, in some cases, more performative—making it harder to engage with the real, nuanced work that DEI requires. What concerns me most is the risk of losing momentum on efforts that are essential to building fair and effective workplaces. When we stop talking honestly about equity, we stop understanding how to create a better workforce.

A portrait of Kasey Harboe Guentert against a green background with dark green star graphics

The worst hiring practice employers follow, according to an expert

It’s a practice one consultant says is “unfortunately still common.”

The worst hiring practice employers follow

While we may be in the middle of summer, the labor market is experiencing a cold front.

Employers added fewer jobs than expected in July, according to the 

 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, a significant downward revision to the May and June data suggested actual job gains were much lower than the robust numbers originally reported.

July’s weak numbers and the revisions for May and June 

 Erika McEntarfer, claiming via his social media platform that the numbers were “manipulated for political purposes.”

The newest employment data suggests that employers, faced with a myriad of economic challenges—including uncertainty over President Trump’s tariff threats, the administration’s immigration crackdown 

, and high interest rates—are opting to hunker down instead of investing in growing their businesses and expanding their workforce.

“There’s generally this cautiousness,” Rajesh Namboothiry, SVP at Manpower US, told HR Brew. “They’re just watching how this will play out over the next six months.”

Employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, falling short of the Dow Jones’ estimate of 100,000. The BLS also reported steeper than usual revisions for May and June. Employers added just 19,000 jobs in May, and 14,000 in June, around 258,000 less than originally reported.

“With downward revisions anticipated in September’s benchmark revision, a major reassessment of the labor market’s health is likely. However, it has been evident throughout the year that the labor market lacks momentum,” Kory Kantenga, head of economics for the Americas at LinkedIn, 

The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% in July, but continued to hover between the range of 4% and 4.2% from May 2024. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings for employees rose by 12 cents to $36.44, a 0.3% increase.

Healthcare added more than 55,000 jobs, beating its own 12-month average monthly gains of 42,000, with growth largely driven by ambulatory healthcare services and hospitals. Meanwhile, social assistance saw the second-highest job gains, adding 18,000 in July, with the bulk of hiring in individual and family services.

Healthcare and social assistance were among the few sectors with strong job growth, said Namboothiry. “Every other sector is actually pulling back. So this is an indication of employers saying we’re going to just wait and watch. We’re not going to hire at this point.”

Employment in the federal government declined by 12,000 jobs in July, falling 84,000 since its peak in January. Professional and business services saw 14,000 fewer jobs added, the largest drop of any sector, driven by losses in administrative and support services, while manufacturing and nondurable goods both reported job losses of 11,000.

Right now, many employers are focusing on maintaining their businesses instead of growing, and holding back on hiring except for essential roles, Namboothiry said. For companies, this is a prime opportunity to invest in training their workforce to help them meet the challenges that arrive in the months ahead.

“You don’t have to future proof your workforce today. You don’t have to build the workforce of the future three years from now, today. But you’ve gotta maintain, and you’ve gotta continue to upskill your talent,” he said.

A businessman stands in front of and looks at a giant stack of dominoes that are about to collapse on top of him.

Weak job gains in July highlight employers’ economic anxiety

“This is an indication of employers saying we’re going to just wait and watch, we’re not going to hire at this point.”

July’s weak job gains and revisions spotlights employers’ economic anxiety-driven hiring pullback

The labor market is like those slimy pests that love eating the tomato plants growing in your garden: sluggish.

 that existing economic uncertainty and new turmoil driven by President Trump’s ongoing tariff threats could send the labor market into a tailspin. While that hasn’t occurred, the latest

 (JOLTS) data for June from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that the labor market is continuing its slow but steady cooldown.

In some ways, it’s a blessing and a curse: While the job market hasn’t gone off the deep end, its continual stagnation is also creating its own problems. For example, as fewer opportunities open up externally, employees will be less likely to quit, stalling internal mobility opportunities.

“The story is not one of a job market that is collapsing. Instead, we see much like we’ve seen in the last few months, that the job market is cooling gradually,” said Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s lead economist. “But we are still seeing the same pattern in the JOLTS data that has helped explain why workers feel so sour about the current job market.”

Employers had 7.4 million job openings posted at the end of June, a decline of 275,000 from the previous month. Accommodation and food services saw the biggest drop in openings, declining by 308,000 to 754,000 in June. That was followed by healthcare and social assistance (declining 244,000) and finance and insurance (down 142,000).

Meanwhile, retail trade increased by 190,000 to 656,000 job openings, the highest monthly increase for the June data, followed by professional and business services increasing by 156,000, and information by 67,000.

Meanwhile, organizations made 261,000 fewer hires month over month, recording just 5.2 million hires in June. Professional and business services recorded the steepest monthly drop in hires between May and June, reporting 936,000 total hires, a decline of 133,000 month over month. That was followed by accommodation and food services (declining 106,000), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (falling 42,000).

The number of employees quitting declined by 128,000 to 3.1 million, while layoffs and discharges remained relatively unchanged at 1.6 million in June. With total separations, professional and business services declined by 56,000 to a total of 944,000 for the month. Meanwhile, retail trade recorded the highest spike in separations, increasing by 31,000 to 612,000 in June—of that total, 440,000 were employees quitting.

As speculation over whether AI is replacing white-collar jobs mounts, including in professional services and finance, 

 that the technology could be a factor in job turnover plummeting for these sectors.

 prompting cost-cutting measures, including offshoring jobs and layoffs, are what’s really driving a slowdown in these fields. While some jobs, such as administrative services, might be more susceptible to employers wanting to replace workers with AI, this interest is still being driven primarily by cost savings, Zhao said.

“I think it’s hard to see evidence that AI is specifically driving the slow down in jobs growth that we’re seeing. Instead, I suspect it’s a little bit reversed where, right now, jobs growth in general is slow, and that’s being driven by macroeconomic factors rather than AI,” Zhao added.

As economic uncertainty persists, employers will have to be prepared for the labor market to shift in any direction. That’ll mean continuing to plan for a myriad of scenarios, according to Zhao.

“Given how much uncertainty there is right now, it would be irresponsible to stick our heads in the sand and pretend that there is only one path forward.”

HR leaders will want to keep an eye on their workers as well. With fewer opportunities opening up internally and externally, workers are more and more susceptible to resentment and disengagement, Zhao claims.

“I think it’s important for HR leaders to recognize that employee disengagement is likely to be a significant problem right now, and might even be worse than in other job market contexts,” Zhao said, “because so many workers are prioritizing job security and would rather sit in place in a job where they are disengaged and unhappy rather than test the waters on the open market.”

a graphic of a cartoon man walking on a stock market chart

Why June’s sluggish labor turnover data spells trouble for employers

Employee resentment could climb as high as these heat wave temps.

June’s sluggish labor turnover data could spell trouble for employers

When it comes to AI transformation, having HR on board is critical. But some people leaders experience 

Those who are feeling left out in the cold might want to look to ServiceNow’s 

In January, ServiceNow announced a title change for Canney, making her its chief people and AI enablement officer. The change reflected an expanded role for Canney, who’d led HR at the tech giant since 2021, and put her at the helm of the change management aspect of AI transformation within the company.

That decision, to tie developing the company’s workforce for the future and creating a desired company culture to AI technology investment, felt like a “very natural extension” of her role and “the right move to make in the market,” Canney told HR Brew. But the interest she got from other HR leaders was somewhat unexpected.

“I think HR leaders are starting to see…why you would want human capital strategy, human capital investment to be something bigger than that, as it ties to this really powerful technology that’s moving very quickly,” she said.

Canney spoke with HR Brew about some of the AI-related initiatives that her team is leading at ServiceNow, including launching a new training platform and honing in on AI-related skills during hiring.

Canney’s team has embarked on revamping the company’s training approach, including combining employee and customer training under one team.

Over a year ago, ServiceNow focused on teaching all employees the basics around AI terminology to ensure everyone was on the same page about AI terms and how they are used at the company.

These trainings were disseminated by bringing in speakers, creating use cases, and encouraging company leaders to explain what it meant when terms like AI, generative AI, and 

In May, the company launched ServiceNow University, an online learning platform. The platform uses AI to help chart the path that workers can pursue to attain the skills and expertise they want. The service is also available for its customers, and the company aims to get 3 million people learning on the platform by the end of 2027.

“It’s ambitious, but it feels really good,” Canney said of that goal.

Soft skills—which experts argue are important to develop along with AI use skills—are also a priority. Canney said one example of how these skills are being developed is through manager training. Her team has created classes around different kinds of managers—such as first-time people managers, or a manager of managers—which teach them how to navigate trickier situations like having a difficult conversation with a subordinate.

“We’re seeing humanity come through as [being] equally as important as it is for someone to feel confident using AI,” Canney said.

The company’s investment in AI has also impacted its hiring processes. Earlier this week, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott said in an 

that AI adoption is helping the company save money by slowing hiring demand for roles he described as being “soul crushing,” such as IT support and customer service.

Hiring has picked up dramatically, though, for roles focused on using AI. Over the past two years, ServiceNow quadrupled its AI hires. ServiceNow has posted more than 1,200 jobs focused on or requiring AI skills, a 163% year over year increase. AI skills don’t just encompass AI roles, however.

“We did say we are the AI platform for business transformation. So it can’t just be like, here’s the AI team, here’s the employee workflow team, here’s the CRM team. It has to literally go across,” Canney said. “And that’s why we’ve put more hires into the pipeline, so that we can cover off on the entire platform instead of maybe being viewed in a more narrow lane.”

Recruiters are also trained to understand AI-relevant skills and how to identify them while navigating high résumé volumes. This has in part been driven by Amit Zavery, ServiceNow’s president, COO and chief product officer, who joined the company last October.

“It’s been a learning across the whole team, but they’re delivering, and I feel like Amit’s been the driving force, because he knows what great looks like, and I believe that his point of view is why we have accelerated where we have and the success that we’ve been having in the hires that we’ve made,” Canney said.

The company is also training recruiters to watch out for candidates using AI during the hiring process.

“That path on AI skills is really important in HR. It’s the ability to use critical thinking, your instinct, deciding when things need to be in person, maybe, versus on the Zoom like that’s all going to get sorted out a little bit from where it is today,” Canney said.

“And I think the HR function is probably going to lead in a lot of that, to be able to discern: When is it a human interaction? When’s it human plus machine? When can it just be machine? It’s not something that HR teams have grown up having to figure that out.”

Profile treatment of Jacqui Canney, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer at ServiceNow.

ServiceNow’s HR chief on leading AI change management

Jacqui Canney reflects on the significant AI transformation that her team is spearheading.

ServiceNow’s chief people officer on leading AI change management within the tech giant

Adam DeRose

Move over, “Tell me your biggest weakness,” a new weird interview question has surfaced: “Can you wave?”

AI-generated deepfakes and candidate fraud are growing in recruiting, and—in response—talent acquisition (TA) pros are learning new ways to suss out the fit of a candidate, and that assessment now must include, “Are you real?”

“Fraud hiring isn’t new…it’s really just evolved,” according to Julia Frament, head of Global HR at IRONSCALES, a cybersecurity company specializing in email. “Before it was mostly misrepresentation, so candidates stretching titles or fabricating degrees, maybe borrowing experience…maybe ghosting verification, using fake references, using friends to pose as past managers.”

But now the toolbox for candidate fraud is expansive. ChatGPT can write up a perfect résumé and cover letter to match an opening; generative AI tools can create realistic images and content-like responses to interview questions; it’s also relatively easy to design a “real” LinkedIn page for a fake professional.

In fact, up to one-fourth of all job applications could be deepfakes or fraudulent by 2028, according to an April report from Gartner.

“At first glance, it seems like it’s just bad hires, fake resumes, fraud, but it is so much bigger than HR,” Frament said. “It really is about trust and security, which can lead to massive problems within a business.”

System access and security, business data, customer data, financial information, employee information, and business reputation are all at risk, Frament suggested. If nothing else, for the HR or TA pro, dealing with fraudulent candidates adds friction to the hiring process, slows down time to hire, and generates a lot of extra work.

 Frament said red flags often appear early in application materials.

“The biggest thing that a lot of us are seeing is the overly polished résumés…a strong recruiter is going to see that immediately and raise a red flag.”

Other fraud indicators include a noticeable mismatch between verbal and written communication, an unusual cadence on camera, or an audio delay that’s a little off, she said.

“I work for a 100% remote company, and I definitely think we’re more susceptible because it’s easier for someone to fake their location and identity when they’re interacting with us via Zoom versus having to show up for an in-person interview,” Bonnie Dilber said, a recruiter at the workflow automation software platform Zapier and 

 who posts to social media about recruiting. “I will say that I know someone who hired someone who was lying about their identity, and that was for an in-person role with a fully in-person hiring process.”

Dilber said there are obviously bad actors out there looking for an in with a company to target proprietary, financial, sales or personnel data, but there are other situations where AI engineers are engaging in this process to build tools to “hack interviews” and sell a product.

“They’ve done it because they want to prove either a proof-of-concept for their tool, or because they need to figure out what’s going on in the interview process for that company so that they can design something they can sell,” she said.

But bad actors aren’t the only candidates who are using generative AI tools to polish (or heavily write) their application documents, Dilber added.

“We get huge volumes of applications, a lot of the content in those is AI generated, and you don’t actually know if it’s AI generated because it’s a fake, fraudulent person, or if it’s just someone using AI to speed up their application process, both of those things are happening,” she said.

Dilber also noted that any flagged issues do not automatically mean the candidate is fraudulent, but raises that possibility as the process proceeds. 

 that IP addresses match locations where candidates purport to be, does a double take if virtual phone numbers like Google Voice are used, and notes VPN use.

Frament told HR Brew that IRONSCALES, too, developed a set protocol for dealing with potential fraud in the hiring process: “dig in quickly, then move on.”

 Frament suggested normalizing awkward conversations about the 800-pound fake gorilla in the room. If you’re unsure about the authenticity of the “person” sitting in front of you, ask them off-script questions, if they’re having connectivity issues that might explain any lags or glitches, or ask them to wave their hand in front of their face and look for video glitches, she said.

“It sounds silly right now because it’s not something we’re used to, but I do believe that it’s going to be…normal,” Frament said. “Little things like watching people’s movement, really being mindful of any glitching…and taking note of that if you have any concerns.”

The gut feeling isn’t always correct, Frament said, suggesting that candidates each have unique individual personalities and sometimes it’s just a “weird” vibe. She also pointed out that in international hiring, language and cultural barriers can also add to the challenge since many US norms are not shared abroad and vice versa, so sometimes raised flags don’t indicate fraud.

“We have always been trained to identify skill and cultural fit,” she said. “Now we’re going to have to be trained to identify authenticity and verification.”

Image of a face with a long nose extending out toward a mask to represent a deepfake.

Rise of AI deepfakes and fraudulent candidates are changing how TA recruits

“We have always been trained to identify skill and cultural fit. Now we’re going to have to be trained to identify authenticity and verification.”

Even if you’re only making a couple bucks an hour working at a summer camp or stocking shelves at the grocery store, the first job in one’s career can feel life-changing.

But many teens today are missing out on that experience.

While the overall unemployment rate has hovered between 4% and 4.2% since May 2024, joblessness for teenagers aged 16 to 19 rose from 12.3% in June 2024 to 14.4% in June 2025—a 17% increase overall. Teens currently are the age group with the highest unemployment rate. Meanwhile, unemployment for people aged 20 to 24, who have also experienced difficulty finding employment this year, increased 9% year over year to 8.2%

Rising teen unemployment primarily relates to the fact that employers have made fewer hires overall after peaking in early 2022 during the “Great Resignation,” especially in sectors where teenagers are most likely to find jobs, such as leisure and hospitality and retail trade. As such, hiring for this age group will be weaker this year.

Predictions from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggest 

 from May through July 2025, down from the 1.1 million gained during the same period last year (which was 200,000 lower than the firm originally predicted).

“They’ve really seen the most deterioration, which historically is what you would expect during times where things are slowing down [and] unemployment is going up. It’s always concentrated among that 16-to-19 range, and part of it just has to do a lot with where they work,” Kory Kantenga, head of economics for the Americas at LinkedIn, told HR Brew.

And, as older workers experience difficulties finding employment, they could be applying to jobs with lower barriers to entry, including those that are often occupied by teenagers, creating more competition for younger workers, said Nich Tremper, senior economist at Gusto.

 aged 15 to 19 were on track to be consistent with historical rates, though employment growth for this age group is smaller than in past years. Employment for 15- to 19-year-olds grew by just 11.8% in May this year on Gusto’s platform, down from 14.3% in May 2024 and 14.4% in May 2023. At the same time, hiring for college grads is down 16% year over year.

“Teens are, in a lot of ways, feeling some stress finding that seasonal job when folks economy-wide, especially those who are at the entry points of their careers, those who are 20 to 26 are experiencing some of the difficulties in finding a job,” Tremper said. “So some of what might be happening here is this crowding out effect.”

While the rising unemployment numbers for teens may raise concerns, they are still a far cry from other relatively recent economic crises. By comparison, teen unemployment was at 27.2% in October 2009, in the wake of the Great Recession, and at 32.8% in April 2020.

“We are not yet at crisis level for very young workers, but we are at a point where momentum is very clearly shifting in a bad direction for them,” Kantenga said.

Missing out on employment opportunities at the very start of one’s career can bring lifelong consequences. Young people who experience joblessness for six months or more can miss out on 

 in wages that they will never recoup, a 2013 analysis from the Center for American Progress found. Unemployment during this age can also lead to 

 outcomes later in life, and be a factor contributing to whether a young person 

“Those first interactions with the labor market are really critical and important,” Kantenga said. “That’s why it makes sense for us to be concerned…even though, overall, the unemployment rate for this particular group is not at a crisis level right now, but it is concerning that there’s less momentum, given we know that the impacts are quite significant over someone’s lifetime.”

Moreover, these young workers will remember 

 in the hiring process, and that can lead to long-term consequences for employers, Kantenga noted. While businesses currently have more leverage in the labor market as workers experience greater competition for open roles, that could change in the future and come back to bite employers.

“The question is…Is there potentially long-term damage you did when you had the leverage, that you won’t necessarily be able to make up for? I think that’s probably something that if you’re in talent, particularly talent acquisition, you have to figure out what that trade-off is going to be,” Kantenga said.

For HR leaders, teens present an opportunity to invest in highly moldable talent while also benefitting from lower labor costs—something that employers have continually cited as a challenge.

“This is a way that you are able to support your business and support folks as they’re establishing their careers and establishing ways to work in ways that might be cost effective for your business,” Tremper said.

Two teenage girls work the cash register at an ice cream shop.

Teen unemployment is on the rise

While the overall unemployment rate has remained relatively stable over the last year, joblessness for 16-to-19-year-olds rose 17% in that same period.

Teen unemployment is on the rise. Here’s why that matters for employers.

Right now, some HR leaders can’t see the forest for the trees when it comes to their talent acquisition strategy.

Net employment expectations fell for the third quarter of 2025 as ongoing economic uncertainty continues to 

 of 6,000 US employers from staffing firm ManpowerGroup found. While it’s understandably difficult to strategize with ever-changing global trade policies, getting caught up in the turmoil also comes with its own set of ramifications, one expert told HR Brew.

US organizations’ net employment outlook for the third quarter, or July through September—calculated by subtracting plans for layoffs from hiring expectations—fell to 30%, down from 34% in the prior quarter, according to ManpowerGroup’s survey.

More specifically, 44% of employers expect to increase recruitment, while another 39% plan to maintain their current staffing levels, 14% expect to decrease their ranks, and 3% are unsure.

“Employers continue to just be cautious,” Rajesh Namboothiry, SVP at Manpower US, told HR Brew. “They’re hiring for key roles. They’re pausing on roles that are not of significant strategic importance because that’s a reflection of their overall demand cycle as well.”

Of the industries ManpowerGroup surveyed, information technology, financials and real estate, and industrials and materials were most likely to hire, while energy and utilities, and communication services were among those with the lowest outlooks. Large companies with 250–5,000 workers also had the strongest hiring intentions (35% or more), while small employers with 10 or less staffers reported the weakest (less than 29%).

Economic uncertainty, fueled by the Trump administration’s ongoing and ever-changing tariff threats, continued to impact employers’ outlooks. Of organizations expecting to decrease their workforce in the next quarter, 44% said economic challenges were the reason why. And 58% of employers overall cited global trade uncertainty as creating “moderate” to “a lot of” impact on their hiring decisions.

The IT sector reported the highest volatility from global trade uncertainty at 69%, followed by financials and real estate (62%) and communication services (58%).

Employers are “plagued by the economic challenges,” Namboothiry said, and keep getting caught up thinking about talent strategy in the short-term.

“They’re sitting tight and saying, ‘Okay, one more month. Let’s see how it goes, and then we’ll start hiring.’ But very soon, you’ll start to get into the 2026 planning cycle, the next three years’ cycle,” he noted. HR leaders instead need to focus on the next two-to-three-years ahead, the market shifts that might happen during that time, and what’s required to get ahead of them now. “Look at the longer term horizon. Don’t be tactical and transactional for what you need today or next month,” Namboothiry said.

Some longer-term shifts are on HR leaders’ minds. For example, 55% of companies say that growing numbers of retiring workers exiting the workforce is affecting their HR strategy. If employers continue to focus solely on the short-term, they’ll find themselves in a lot more trouble down the road, according to ManpowerGroup.

“You see this exit in the workforce, you see some stagnation in the economy, and then you see employers holding off on hiring. That’s a perfect storm…that’s going to continue to plague the market overall,” Namboothiry said. “Something’s got to give here, and I think part of that is employers have to start planning for the future, and think about all these demographic shifts happening in their workspace.”