Dive Brief:
- Artificial intelligence hasn’t consistently improved the speed of hiring despite its increased use across every aspect of recruitment, according to the latest employment outlook report from staffing company ManpowerGroup released Sept. 8.
- The research found that only a third of respondents reported seeing an improved time-to-hire compared to 2025. Meanwhile, 42% said there was no change, and 25% said the process actually slowed down. Employers also said a lengthy recruitment process was a key obstacle to hiring.
- Meanwhile, 48% of U.S. employers said they planned to hire staff moving into the last quarter of 2026, compared with 12% that reported expected reductions and 38% that said they didn’t anticipate any changes.
Dive Insight:
The survey collected data from interviews with nearly 40,000 public and private employers across 42 countries, including more than 6,000 U.S. employers, and measured anticipated employment trends.
Hiring increases were driven mainly by organizational growth, per the report. Nearly two-fifths (39%) of firms that planned to add employees cited company expansion, and 24% said they planned to branch out into new areas. Meanwhile, 37% of companies planning staff reductions attributed the move to economic challenges, per the report.
“While employers are approaching hiring more cautiously than last quarter, growth remains firmly on the agenda,” Ger Doyle, regional president at ManpowerGroup North America, said in a statement. “Companies continue to hire in critical areas, particularly for highly skilled roles supporting AI, technology and infrastructure investments. With skills shortages continuing to constrain hiring, businesses that combine innovation with a strong talent strategy will be better equipped to meet their long-term goals.”
Entry-level hiring was one of the strongest growth areas, with 52% of employers in both the manufacturing and information sectors expecting to increase their number of early career staffers in the fourth quarter compared to 2025.
However, employers also said their hiring processes hindered by multiple factors. Those included a shortage of candidates with the necessary skills, not enough qualified candidates in local markets, “mismatches between candidate expectations and job requirements” and not as many applicants coming from referrals and professional networks.
In August, U.S. total nonfarm payroll rose by 162,000, driven mainly by gains in the “food services and drinking places” category, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment remained stable at 4.1%.
Against this backdrop, 91% of HR leaders say they actively use AI in their recruitment process, with the remaining leaders saying they plan to implement some form of AI over the next 18 months, according to a recent report from HR technology provider Paylocity.