By Hudson RPO CEO Jake Zabkowicz
The last few years have been a roller coaster for the talent acquisition industry. It started in 2020 with a job-hopping bonanza causing a mad dash to find qualified employees, then evolved to a market slowdown when few people decided to switch jobs.
As we head into 2025, we expect to fall into a new “normal” with increased but more steady hiring. The following are tips to make sure you are ready.
Put yourself in this situation: you’re attempting to build a dam during a storm, only to find that by the time the storm ends, the water has already breached, making it too late to contain the damage. This is precisely the situation companies faced during the pandemic: reacting to a surge in talent departures without a proactive plan in place to strengthen their talent pipelines. Having high attrition rates is not ideal; they signal a critical need for businesses to use forward-thinking workforce solutions to weather future disruptions.
Talent acquisition (TA) professionals must ensure their processes are clear and strategies are future-ready for scenarios like these. In April 2020, U.S. unemployment spiked to 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. By December 2024, it fell to 4.1%, with industries like healthcare and tech thriving. The EU followed a similar trajectory, with unemployment dropping from 7.5% in 2020 to 5.9% in November 2024, though youth unemployment remained stubbornly high at 15.3%. Saudi Arabia turned crisis into opportunity, cutting unemployment from 12.6% in 2020 to 5.71% by 2023 through Vision 2030 reforms.
However, as jobs were steadily coming back, many businesses were not prepared. In 2020, U.S. job openings dropped below 6 million, only to skyrocket to 11 million by March 2022. Across the globe, Australia saw vacancies plummet nearly 40% in 2020, rebounding to 51% above pre-pandemic levels by late 2024. What is the key takeaway? Organizations that succeed remain agile, proactive, and equipped with the right strategies to address market disruptions before they escalate.
Imagine walking into a battlefield with no map, no strategy, and no idea where your team is. It’s not a fight you’d win. Yet, many companies treat the talent market this way, blindfolded and hoping for the best.
That is why in 2025, knowing the talent landscape is no longer optional; it’s your greatest weapon. Europe is a superior example of why you need to know talent landscape. By 2035, the EU is projected to add 7.5 million jobs, with healthcare leading at 2.6 million roles, followed by IT (1.4 million) and education (1.1 million). Asia-Pacific is leaning into green energy, with over 14.2 million green jobs expected by 2030, powered by renewable energy and electric mobility investments.
Retention strategies further highlight the importance of knowledge. The 2024 SHRM Talent Retention Report revealed toxic work environments (32.4%), poor leadership (30.3%), and dissatisfaction with management (27.7%) as the top reasons employees quit. Conversely, 83.4% of employees stay for positive environments, and 54.7% value flexibility. A key strategy is to empower companies with data and insights to help attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape year after year.
Let’s face it: building a rigid strategy in today’s talent market is like trying to cook without the right ingredients—it’s bound to fall flat. Agility and scalability are the secret sauce that brings everything together, and when paired with strong partnerships, they create the ultimate recipe for success in 2025.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is proof of why you need to be ready to pivot, with 10 million jobs projected by 2050 in sectors like green hydrogen, solar energy, and electric mobility. Similarly, the U.S. is set to add 8.3 million jobs by 2034, with growth in healthcare, computer and mathematical industries.
Asia-Pacific reflects a very agile market, with booming IT and fintech hubs in India, China, and Singapore. In 2024, Australia’s renewable energy investments drove job openings 51% higher than pre-pandemic levels. With so many dynamic markets growing, it’s critical to make sure that your business can stay ahead of competition while at the same time ensuring adaptability.
The path forward for organizations in 2025 is to plan now, gain knowledge, and focus on agility. Talent acquisition is no longer about just filling positions— it’s about creating resilient systems, understanding market shifts, and building meaningful partnerships.
The pandemic may be in the rearview mirror, but its lessons remain: if you don’t prioritize your people and your strategy, someone else will.
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