What the New Jobs Report Means for Recruiting

The Stalled Labor Market and What It Means for Recruiting in 2025

Whether you’re a recruiter or a jobseeker, this job market is challenging, leaving both sides in a holding pattern. The most recent jobs report confirms what many of us have felt for months: Hiring takes too long, layoffs are increasing, and people are staying put. The New York Federal Reserve found the perceived probability of finding a job fell 5.8 percentage points to 44.9% in August.

Sectors like manufacturing, wholesale trade, and government are losing the most jobs. But even healthcare, which added nearly 40,000 jobs in August, is seeing slower growth than just a few years ago.

And it’s not all because of AI. Guy Berger and Bijal Shah from Guild argue there’s more to the story: “In our conversations with leading chief human resource officers…we consistently hear the same thing: hiring is slowing, not because of AI panic, but because businesses are bracing for uncertainty.”

Even in this environment, recruiting teams still need to hire. Rival’s 2025 Future of Talent Acquisition Report found 56% of organizations expect increased hiring in the next two years, but only 30% expect their TA budget to grow.

If that sounds familiar, here are four ways to build more efficiency into your recruiting strategy and support early-career hires.

1. Don’t wait for candidates to find you

With quits at record lows, inbound applications are slowing. Just posting a role isn’t enough. Get proactive with outbound sourcing, especially for hard to find roles or in tight labor markets.

While larger candidate pools exist in this market, skills mismatches persist. The right talent still isn’t easy to find. Rival Recruit can help with AI-powered candidate matching and sourcing, surfacing 750M+ passive and active profiles to reach the right candidates with the right skills. You can also automate personalized outreach at scale, so candidates feel and stay engaged, not ghosted. Our branded career sites and recruitment marketing tools help you stand out in a climate where candidates are careful about where they apply.

2. Nurture candidates with clear, consistent communication

A recent Washington Post article illustrates the growing frustration from job seekers with a story about a man who applied to more than 150 jobs, leading to only four interviews. He describes the process as “a lot less personal and a lot more mechanical.” 

Don’t leave your candidates in the dark. Clear, timely communication keeps candidates engaged and builds trust. This is critical for reaching highly skilled candidates who are cautious about leaving their current role, and also for early-career hires who might need that extra guidance and transparency.

Rival Recruit helps automate nurture campaigns that keep candidates informed at every step. Analytics show you where the funnel is breaking, so you can course-correct before top talent drops out of the process.

3. Lean into automation to do more with less

HR and TA teams aren’t immune to layoffs, yet the demand to fill roles remains. Automation can help smaller teams by taking repetitive tasks like sourcing, scheduling, and follow-ups off recruiters’ plates. That gives you breathing room to focus on building relationships and creating a standout experience.

4. Ease the transition from candidate to employee

Few things are more frustrating—or costly—than that hard-won new hire dropping off your radar before day one. Avoid missteps and delays in preboarding or onboarding with clear tasks and communication that help new hires feel in the loop from the start. Rival Workflow automates these tasks so HR can focus on strategy and new hires become productive faster.

Even in a stagnant labor market, you can build a solid pipeline of top talent (just ask our customers!). Put your organization in the best position by sourcing proactively, nurturing consistently, leaning into automation, and supporting new hires through onboarding. 

Ready to learn more? We’re hosting a LinkedIn Live September 30 at 2PM ET to dive more into the latest jobs report and what it means for recruiters. I hope to see you there!