The coming election may be getting in the way of hiring plans, according to survey results released Oct. 14 by Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll.
Nearly a third of the more than 1,000 U.S. hiring managers surveyed said that planning their labor needs amid a potential recession or changes in government policies is their biggest hiring challenge for the rest of 2026.
Of those companies that said they plan to reduce or maintain head count, 28% said they are waiting to hire until they see the outcomes of the election, and 23% said they are “waiting for the economy to return to normal” before hiring.
Rising costs are putting pressure on workforce budgets and the ability to operate effectively, respondents also said. Wages, hiring budgets and benefits were among the areas most affected, the report found.
Healthcare benefits, in particular, have spiked in price in recent years; 92% of companies surveyed by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions said healthcare costs hurt their competitiveness. Many organizations also reported needing to make tradeoffs between benefits and salary increases and said they were pushing costs onto workers.
And those increases see no signs of slowing. An Aon report from the end of August reported that healthcare costs could rise by nearly 10% in 2027.
Notably, more than a third of hiring managers surveyed by Express Employment and The Harris Poll said their companies wouldn’t be able to survive much longer if wages and costs “continue to increase so quickly.”
“Political instability creates an uncertain hiring environment and an unpredictable economy,” said Bob Funk Jr., CEO, president and chairman of Express Employment International. “While businesses can’t control these external pressures, thoughtful planning gives leaders the flexibility to make difficult decisions today while protecting the people and investments that drive future growth.”