Employers are getting ready to increase hiring next year, according to the latest ZipRecruiter Employer Survey.
The survey suggests that while turnover "dropped sharply" in 2025, there are signs that employers are preparing to get back to the business of hiring.
Highlights from ZipRecruiter's survey of hiring managers at 1,500 organizations:
Employee turnover fell from "177% in 2023 to just 50% in 2025" as "businesses and workers alike choose stability over change."
However, there are emerging “signs of momentum.”
Our research suggests ‘The Great Freeze’ is giving way to ‘The Great Thaw,’ and the most prepared employers are already taking action. We’re seeing businesses ramp up entry-level hiring, drop degree requirements, and incorporate skills assessments into their process."
63% of employers are planning to "increase hiring in the year ahead."
32% of employers plan to “hire more entry-level workers over all other roles.”
76% of employers believe "employee retention will be a key focus for the year ahead."
61% of employers are planning to increase salaries in 2026.
Only 43% of employers said they have utilized AI in their hiring process this year.
52% of respondents said "AI is generating new roles within their organizations."
Read more via ZipRecruiter
The United Kingdom is planning to recruit and train a significant number of workers for industrial roles in the clean energy sector.
UK officials announced the plan earlier this month.
"Thousands of workers" will be recruited and trained for industrial jobs to meet "growing demand in the clean energy sector."
Plumbers, electricians and welders are in especially high demand.
The UK government is "aiming to double jobs" in the clean energy sector to “860,000 by 2030.”
Read more via Reuters
The Pay Transparency Directive was passed back in June 2023, at which point the three-year implementation countdown began.
What the Pay Transparency Directive requires:
The new requirements include that employers: disclose salaries at the time of recruitment; comply with employee requests for pay/salary data; publish gender pay gap statistics and be subject to “compulsory audits and penalties when unjustified discrepancies come to light.”
How the Directive could change the culture around salaries:
Experts say the implementation of the directive across the EU could "finally do away with the hush-hush culture around salaries — levelling the playing field for younger staff, returners from parental leave, and anyone who has historically been underpaid for the same role."
Some countries are simply "adapting and adjusting existing laws":
This is happening in countries where “national legislation already addresses requirements similar to those in the Directive.” Other countries are “introducing entirely new laws that closely mirror the Directive’s provisions."
Some EU member states have made major headway ahead of the upcoming deadline:
Belgium is "at the forefront of implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive," according to Addleshaw Goddard.
Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden have published draft legislation. Germany is “preparing to update its act in line with the directive.” Malta and Poland have also made progress.
Other EU member states could miss the implementation deadline:
Implementation of the directive "has been slow," and there are indications that "several countries could miss the deadline next year."
"10 out of 27 countries have not yet taken any action toward implementing the directive," according to Euronews.
At the end of 2025, most EU countries are not yet ready with the implementation of the Directive and, in general, are progressing slowly."
Read more via Euronews, Jackson Lewis, Addleshaw Goddard
Throughout 2025, most employers have continued the push to return workers to the office. But not all employers have instituted return-to-office mandates. A select number of organizations remain "remote-first" employers, which experts say allows for a "distinct advantage" when it comes to hiring, allowing them to attract candidates “like moths to an open flame.”
Job postings for remote-first roles attract a significant number of applicants:
While just 8% of LinkedIn job postings are advertised as remote roles, these job postings "received 35% of the applications."
Some workers are willing to take a pay cut to work remotely:
A recent study by researchers from Harvard, Brown, and UCLA found that "many" U.S. tech workers were "willing to accept a 25% lower salary for jobs that were hybrid or fully remote." That study focused on high earning tech workers whose salaries averaged $239,000.
Other surveys have suggested the "average worker was willing to accept a pay cut of around 10% to work fully remotely."
What does the future hold when it comes to remote-first jobs?
Experts say a "surge in job postings for remote work" is "unlikely at the moment."
However, employers that cannot "appeal to talent through high pay, PTO, stock shares, and other financial benefits" could increasingly use "going remote-first in hiring" to attract the same top talent as their competitors.
Read more via HR Digest, Entrepreneur, American Economic Association
