The uncertainties of 2025 are top of mind as employers calibrate their 2026 talent plans. But there’s one potential positive: It’s an employer’s market these days.

“The balance of power has shifted,” Robert Hosking, executive director of the administrative and customer support practice at Robert Half, told HR Dive. Employers are turning to precision hiring over the massive hiring sprees of years past, various reports indicate, all in the hunt for specific, high-demand skills.

But even if 2026 is the year hiring intentions rebound, no one wants to make the same mistakes of the post-pandemic years and hire too many people, experts told HR Dive.

“There’s reluctance about hiring because everyone is trying to feel out the economic situation,” Jamie Kohn, senior research director in the human resources practice at Gartner, said.

At the end of the day, the work must get done, she continued, and hiring trends reflect that pressure.

Hiring is more focused

Moving into 2026, employers intend to be more deliberate in their hiring plans, Hosking said. Even tech employers — in need of skilled talent —  are reconsidering how they approach acquisition, a recent Experis report noted.

“We still have the scars of 2021,” Kohn said. “At that point, when we were coming out of the pandemic-induced recession, everyone started hiring all at once and the cost of talent skyrocketed. No one wants to be caught unaware.”

As a result, companies are now attempting to hire only who “they absolutely need,” she continued.

As for who companies are looking for, data indicates they’re focused on hires in digital, finance and HR fields, Aileen Alexander, CEO of DSG Global, told HR Dive. These are teams that are keenly important for companies attempting any kind of transformation — something that’s top of mind in the AI era.

More applicants means more work

In an employer’s market, hiring managers tend to have their pick from a pool of applicants. Still, “I don’t think any recruiter would say the work has gotten easier,” Kohn said. Companies have more applicants — but not quality applicants, she said.

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