By Joseph O’Shea, Vice President, Client Delivery 

Are you ready to navigate through the uncharted waters of tomorrow’s labor market? The World Economic Forum (WEF) just released its Future of Jobs Report 2025, which takes a comprehensive look at the transformative impact of technology in the workplace (especially AI), job growth and loss, and worker skills gap challenges, amongst other essential workforce trends. As the workforce landscape rapidly changes, employees and organizations face a common challenge – adapt or be left behind.

Let’s explore the key insights, strategies, and opportunities that will impact your business and the talent you’re looking to hire.

Top Labor Trends Shaping the Future

A new employment era has begun, and technological advancements are reshaping how companies hire and how professionals seek jobs. By 2030, automation and AI are projected to displace 92 million jobs but also be responsible for creating 170 million new positions, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs globally.

With AI leading current employment trends, what will work look like in the future? Some key indicators can predict how roles will be redefined and what to expect in the coming years.

Key Job Trends & Predictions

• Growth Sectors: Technology, green energy, and healthcare will dominate, with highly demanding roles such as AI specialists, data analysts, engineers, and care workers being the top positions that employers will seek.
• Declining Roles: Positions focusing on repetitive tasks, such as those in clerical and administrative fields, will decrease.
• Technology Acceleration: Increased production of robotics, digital tools, and AI.
• Climate-driven Transitions: More companies will focus on green energy and sustainability, creating new eco-centric job roles.
• Demographic Shifts: As more Gen Z talent enters the workforce, highly skilled, seasoned professionals are looking to retire. However, the youth unemployment rate is 13%, while the global unemployment rate is 4.9 percent.
• Skills-Based Hiring: The number of companies hiring professionals with experience over academic degrees is on the rise. While having a degree is important in some professions, having the skill set is just as important.Related Blog – Skill Development and Training: Empowering Contingent Workers for the Future

How do these predictions relate to the overall health of the labor market? For workers and employers, the stakes are high for adapting to these key insights. By 2030, 44 percent of workers will require reskilling or upskilling, with 75 percent of companies already stating there is a noticeable skills gap to advance company growth.

How to Build a Future-Ready Workforce

It isn’t all doom and gloom. The World Economic Forum (WEF) releases these reports to give employers the knowledge to develop a roadmap for future organizational growth. Broadleaf‘s workforce management and recruiting experts have reviewed the WEF’s Jobs Report to provide you with key takeaways to apply to your talent acquisition, employee training programs, and HR strategies.

1. Create a Human-Centered AI Strategy

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, so adapting to these advancements is critical for sustainable growth. Organizations shouldn’t replace every human with AI processes but instead enhance job roles by including digital AI tools to amplify creativity and automate mundane tasks. This will give employees the ability to be more efficient while attracting new “younger” talent.

Action Steps:

• Audit workflows to identify AI collaboration opportunities (i.e., data analysis automation, customer service)
• Invest in digital literacy training to build employee confidence with new tools.

2. Address the Skills Gap with Upskilling and Retention

Investing in upskilling is not just a short-term fix but a strategic initiative for future-proofing your workforce. Companies that invest in upskilling will increase retention and reduce costs, with upskilling costing 70-92% less than external hiring.

Moreover, employees feel a sense of pride and commitment to an organization that values their skills. Companies that prioritize employee development see 57 percent higher retention rates than those that don’t.

Action Steps:

• Develop tailored learning paths for employees that align with business goals (i.e., IT support, data analytics).
• Offer flexible training times to accommodate diverse schedules.

3. Value Inclusivity

Employers worldwide are becoming more proactive and aware of the workforce challenges, especially when addressing worker shortages. There is a growing emphasis on hiring skilled workers and focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

In just two years, diversity awareness has grown from 10 to 47 percent of employers. In addition, these inclusions have become more widespread, with 83 percent of employers now reporting such initiatives in place, up from 67 percent in 2023. Furthermore, to help with the generation gap, 86 percent of businesses plan to prioritize youth as part of their inclusion measures.

Action Steps:

• Partner with diverse-focused organizations, staffing agencies, and professional organizations to access their network of diverse candidates.
• Implement skills-based hiring practices focusing on candidate’s skills rather than just their resume.

 

Lead the Way: Advancing HR Strategies

Facing the hiring challenges of today and tomorrow doesn’t have to be faced alone. HR departments have more applicants to process than ever. Having a collaborative staffing agency as a partner for talent acquisitions, managed services, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) will help organizations focus on business goals and workplace culture for employee loyalty and retention.

Collaborative Hiring Tactics

Here are a couple of ways managed service providers and staffing agencies, like Broadleaf, can help build a skilled workforce for businesses.

• Diversified Talent Pool: Agencies have a deep talent pool of candidates with the high-demand skills companies are looking for. They have extensive candidate networks and specialized recruitment processes for all demographics, education/skill levels, and age groups.
• Industry-Specific Candidates: Each industry has unique challenges and regulations attached to specific industries. Finding talent that understands skills and industry-specific rules and regulations can be difficult to find at times. Staffing partners specialize in finding professionals that meet the specific industry certifications and requirements.
• Workforce Planning: Effective staffing partners will learn about your business goals, identify skill gaps, and assess employment opportunities to develop a targeted hiring strategy to fill those gaps with skilled professionals.
• Flexible Workforce Solutions: The labor gap isn’t going to be fixed overnight. Contingent workers and temporary staffing solutions for projects or seasonal demands are great short-term solutions. Agencies have the resources to streamline hiring processes, whether through recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) or project-based contractors.

Insight and knowledge are the first steps to building sustainable success in the labor market. Now, what will you do? The Future of Jobs Report 2025 is a call to action, emphasizing adaptability, continuous learning, and embracing technological advancements as key to success in hiring and retaining workers.

Partnering with Broadleaf can be a strategic advantage as you navigate this evolving landscape. With expertise in innovative recruitment solutions and diversity initiatives, Broadleaf helps organizations build a future-ready workforce. Unlock the full potential of your talent acquisition efforts and contact Broadleaf today!