Home Business HR Tech HR Leaders are Focusing on Ret...

HR Leaders are Focusing on Retraining Amid Hiring Freeze

HR Tech

Business Honor - HR Leaders Retrain Amid Hiring Freeze

Business Honor
13 September, 2025

HR leaders mainly focus on training existing employees and has stopped hiring of new applicants to improve retention and growth.

A placement services business named Careerminds reported that HR leaders are changing their focus to the inside, giving internal advancement, retraining, and upgrading projects importance as hiring freezes and reduced employee churn change workforce planning. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), resignation rates have dropped to just 2%, meaning that fewer jobs are becoming available because of natural turnover. As a result, many businesses now focus on training current employees rather than hiring new ones. "Many businesses are improving the skills of their existing employees instead of focusing on new applicants," stated Raymond Lee, president of Careerminds.

The growth of jobs has also slowed. Last month only shows an increase of just 22,000 jobs, while the earlier numbers were changed to reflect a 13,000 job loss. Experts worry that this shift might increase unemployment. According to a Careerminds survey of 600 HR managers, two-thirds of businesses have stopped hiring. Of those, 44% have carried out partial freezes, mainly affecting starting and middle-level positions, while 22% stopped all hiring. Hiring for starting positions stopped by approximately 36%, causing challenges for recent graduates.

Nearly half of HR leaders expect that these limits will continue for an entire year. Another sixteen percent plan two-year freezes. Financial cuts, economic instability, automation, and changes in business needs are the most common issues. According to 43% of HR leaders, they are investing funds in upskilling in order to adapt, especially in fields like risk management, leadership, cybersecurity, and digital skills. In addition, half is improving managers' training in change management.

According to Lee, "the satisfied workers are highly skilled employees. Strengthening businesses as time passes along with improving retention." Experts expect that professional paths might become less based on titles and more skill-based. Businesses that focus on internal development and continuous learning will likely be the most prepared for their field of work in the future.