Current job market

2 articles found

2026-06-05

The State of Hiring: 5% Increase in New Job Postings

ManpowerGroup data showed a 5% increase in new postings in January, which Doyle called “a small but meaningful indication that organizations are beginning the year with clearer hiring plans.” Doyle noted that employers are being deliberate with the jobs they add, focusing on work tied to execution, service delivery and long-term capability. Read more | Paying to get hired: What the reverse recruiting trend tells HR ## Where the pressure points are building Beneath the headline numbers, several indicators shed light on workforce reality. ### Healthcare job growth [...] ### Skills mismatch leading to long-term unemployment Long-term unemployment is another signal worth tracking. The number of people jobless for 27 weeks or more changed little in January at 1.8 million, according to BLS data, but is up by 386,000 from a year earlier. The long-term unemployed now account for 25% of all unemployed people. That trend points to a skills mismatch problem more than a demand problem and suggests an opening for organizations willing to invest in skills-based hiring and return-to-work initiatives. ### Part-time workers [...] Planet Group findings back that up. Contract job demand in January paced just under January 2025 levels but was the strongest the firm has seen since October, according to Belmonte. Permanent hiring was down year over year in 2025, but January permanent job orders were the highest since October as well, suggesting what she called early signs of “selective confidence” returning for critical full-time roles. Ger Doyle, regional president of North America at staffing firm ManpowerGroup, pointed to similar patterns. “The latest numbers point to a labor market that continues to show more underlying strength than many anticipated,” Doyle said in an email.

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2026-04-05

Job Market Trends: How Layoffs Are Shaping Hiring Practices

While upgrading isn't new, Orsuga said that 2025 was the biggest year he's seen for the trend in more than two decades in the recruiting world. He calls it "bullseye hiring." "It's like every seat matters, so I've got to hit a bullseye and get the right person in the right seat," he said. Hiring has slowed in the US recently, due to economic uncertainty, cost-cutting, and AI adoption. In February, the hiring rate fell to 3.1% — a modern low matched only by the pandemic and early recovery from the Great Recession. Three recruiters across tech, marketing, and logistics said that when companies do hire, it can come at the expense of an existing employee. [...] Companies are replacing lower-performing workers with stronger talent to boost performance. It’s one way businesses are optimizing their workforces as hiring budgets tighten. The trend is playing out from early-career roles to the C-suite. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. With hiring budgets constrained, some companies are finding a different way to bring in talent: replacing workers with better ones. [...] For mid-level roles, he said companies use a mix of headhunters and job postings. Some are required to post roles externally for compliance reasons, he said, and because many employees share similar titles, a new posting can signal growth rather than a looming replacement. Orsuga added that some companies are "always hiring" — bringing on new talent not necessarily to grow headcount, but to replace lower-performing workers over time.That dynamic can disproportionately affect early-career workers, who may find themselves competing with annual cohorts of new graduates.

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