Who knew that, when David Byrne donned that big suit in the early ’80s and flailed around in front of a green screen repeatedly chanting “Same as it ever was,” he was perfectly encapsulating the vibes of the labor market some 45 years later?

Rather, that’s the impression we get, as employers plan to make few, if any, changes to their already timid hiring plans going into 2026.

Sitting still. With much of 2025 in the rear-view mirror, talent acquisition (TA) teams are setting their sights on 2026. Economists have already predicted that next year’s labor market will likely see minimal, if any, growth. The 120 senior-level HR decisionmakers who responded to a recent HR Brew survey about hiring expectations for the first half of 2026 said the same.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents expect their hiring for the first half of 2026 to remain constant, unchanged from the second half of 2025, per our last survey, conducted in April.

Just 23% of respondents plan to hire more early next year, up slightly from the 21% who said the same of their hiring plans for the end of 2025. And 22% of respondents plan to hire less in that same period, compared to 26% who said that in April.

While the labor market isn’t expected to collapse in 2026, the incremental growth it’s projected to experience is concerning, experts have warned.

Post-economic anxiety? After upending employers’ hiring plans earlier this year, it seems turmoil over trade policies and the economy now wield less influence.

Just 34% of respondents reported changing hiring plans for the first half of 2026 based on economic uncertainty, compared to the 50% who said the same about the second half of 2025. The results were similar when asked about tariff policy and budget changes’ effect on hiring outlooks.

Respondents expect changes in organization structure, and candidates expectations (for example, around remote work or compensation) to affect their hiring outlooks for the first half of 2026 more than respondents did for the second half of 2025.

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