January 22, 2025

It has been a tough few years for the staffing industry, so will 2025 be better? As Donald Trump returns to the White House, the staffing industry could be poised for significant shifts. Trump's 'America First' strategy will undoubtedly impact the recruitment sector and the job market. While there are many unknowns, Trump has been President before, so there is a playbook to compare to. Recruitment won't be smooth sailing, but for savvy staffing leaders, there will be ample opportunities for growth. Buckle up for the ride; here are our staffing industry predictions for 2025. Top 9 staffing industry predictions for 2025 1. The year of tech unification If there has ever been a time to say goodbye to bloated tech stacks and complex systems, it's now. 2025 is the year of unified systems and doing more with less. With fierce competition in the recruitment sector, efficient day-to-day operations are critical. A unified tech stack helps streamline processes and generally means lower costs, greater efficiency, and improved productivity and collaboration. Tip: Check out Tracker's all-in-one cohesive cloud-based platform for recruitment, applicant tracking, sales & CRM. We offer flexible plans for any business size! 2. The rise and rise of AI Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming indispensable to recruiters as it helps post jobs more efficiently, sift through high numbers of resumes and applications, match candidates, schedule interviews, and deliver workflow-triggered, personalized communications. Gen-AI automates so much, even writing job descriptions, and frees up recruiters’ time for more high-value activities like building relationships. 2025 promises more in predictive analytics and sophisticated algorithms. Artificial intelligence will take centre stage in staffing, but recruiters must be mindful that human judgement and personal touch still play an important role in hiring. The most successful staffing firms in 2025 will be those that move towards a model of AI-human collaboration where AI takes on the tedious admin and feeds data to recruiters, who then make the decisions and validate the outputs. Tip: AI-powered systems filter resumes and applications based on specific criteria, so be careful that the use of historical hiring data doesn't perpetuate biases. Tip: According to Kornferry, 40% of talent specialists worry that too much AI could make the recruiting process impersonal, causing them to miss out on top talent. Be sure to keep the personal touch alive. For example, candidates feel devalued by impersonal automated rejections. 3. A focus on upskilling and skills-based hiring With the skills gap showing no sign of abating, spotting potential is the new recruiting skill. Skills-based hiring was a top trend in 2024 and will continue to feature heavily in 2025. In an interview with Fortune on how recruitment will change in 2025, Yolanda Seals-Coffield, Chief People Officer at PwC, said: "We anticipate recruitment and talent strategies shifting to a stronger focus on being skills-based. Across the corporate landscape, job requirements and hiring decisions will increasingly be based primarily on a candidate's skills. At the same time, development programs will be focused on enabling people to build future-ready technical and leadership capabilities." This shift is further amplified by anticipated changes in immigration policy. Industries heavily reliant on migrant workers may face labor shortages due to fewer pathways for legal migration, tighter border controls, and a greater focus on deportations. This will likely lead to delays in hiring international candidates and limit the pool of highly skilled workers available in sectors like tech, finance, and engineering. Some States, with historically high immigrant populations, may also experience regional disparities in labor availability as a result of stricter immigration policies. In a recent Take the Stage episode presented by Haley Marketing, Brad Bialy caught up with Toby Malara, Vice President of the American Staffing Association (ASA), to discuss likely policy shifts. Malara noted that while apprenticeship schemes under Trump's last administration weren't very successful, there were a lot of programs for upskilling put into place. "The staffing industry has in recent years put a lot of programs in place to upskill employees. The government will rely heavily on private sector innovation, meaning staffing firms have a valuable role to play." Tip: Many businesses don't know where to begin with skills-based hiring. Staffing firms can play a pivotal role in assisting companies transition to a skills-based hiring framework, helping to identify the roles that will drive the most significant business transformation for clients and evaluate what essential skills are required for these positions. Fact: McKinsey reports that hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education and that workers without degrees also tend to stay in their jobs 34% longer than workers with degrees. 4. A resurgence of contractors and increasing demand for flexible work Employees are increasingly seeking flexibility in how they work, especially younger workers, like Gen Z. Hybrid roles, remote options, and compressed weeks are now essential for businesses trying to attract the best talent. According to Zoom research, around 64% of organizations globally have adopted a hybrid work model. In addition, the gig economy continues to flourish, and it's no longer solely the domain of traditional gig work, like manual roles and hospitality jobs; the gig economy is expanding into high-skilled roles. We can expect much more of this in 2025 as skilled workers consider more varied work options and businesses adapt to bring in specialized talent. A growing number of people in the workforce prefer to take on project or contract work. 5. Rising candidate expectations Candidates are increasingly discerning, seeking jobs with companies offering benefits, flexibility, and career progression pathways. Candidates also expect more from recruiters. They want frequent communication and updates, faster and seamless recruiting processes, and personalized experiences. Candidates will choose the agencies that deliver an engaging candidate experience. Those that don't cut it on candidate experience will get ghosted. Another great reason to focus on candidate expectations and meet them is referrals. Those with a positive experience are more likely to tell others about your company. 6. Data-driven recruitment strategies Data plays an increasingly vital role in recruitment, and analytics tools are helping to shape recruitment strategies, from evaluating the performance of job posts to predicting future hiring needs. Analytics can identify talent trends, optimize job descriptions, and make more informed hiring decisions. Tip: Key metrics and KPIs such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and quality-of-hire can be tracked to identify inefficiencies and adjust strategies. 7. A need for adaptive strategies Predicting the job market can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, so staffing firms must stay agile and develop adaptive strategies. Diversifying specialties is a great way to protect your staffing firm from market volatility. One of the best ways of standing out in the staffing world is to specialize and carve out a niche. 8. Job Gains and Losses by sector What will tariffs mean for jobs? In a Forbes article titled "If Trump Follows Through With Tariffs, Here's How It Can Impact American Jobs," Jack Kelly argues that tariffs can be both a good and a bad thing. For staffing firms, the impact on hiring will play out differently according to sector. For example, tariffs could hurt manufacturing, while investment and relaxation of regulations could trigger a hiring boom in industries like aerospace or oil and gas. Research by the CATO Institute on the 2018 wave of protectionism during a trade dispute under Trump's last administration suggests that tariffs decreased U.S. jobs overall. The study found that the U.S. and retaliatory tariffs reduced higher and lower-skilled job postings. 9. Heightened compliance Businesses hiring foreign workers could face greater scrutiny through audits and E-Verify mandates. There will likely be stricter penalties for non-compliance. Staffing firms and businesses will need to navigate complex issues regarding tax laws, labor regulation and data protection. Tip: Audit your I-9 process NOW! Tip: Stay current with regulatory changes and State issues affecting recruitment. Consider joining your local Chamber of Commerce and/or the American Staffing Association (ASA). Futureproof recruitment with Tracker Get a powerful recruitment boost with Tracker. Fill more positions, make more placements, delight candidates and clients with excellent service and make smarter data-based strategic decisions based on detailed performance data and analytics. Book a demo today and see how Tracker’s recruitment tools can help your staffing firm succeed in 2025.

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Staffing Industry Predictions for 2025: What will Change in Recruitment?