After an Unpredictable Year, Recruiters Foresee Big Tech Changes in 2026, Says Research from Employ Inc.

DENVER, Dec. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With talent acquisition teams getting ready for the new year, Employ Inc., a leading provider of people-first, intelligent hiring solutions across JazzHR, Lever, and Jobvite, today shared findings from its 2025 Recruiter Nation Report - Recruiting Realities: What's Shaping TA Today that show the vast majority (76 percent) are considering major technology updates in 2026. The revelation is surprising, given that a staggering 82 percent of recruiters reported being satisfied with the primary system in their current TA tech stack.

As Employ noted in its release of the 2025 Recruiter Nation Report last month, the recruiting industry did not slow down this year despite a changing landscape. Instead, shifting priorities have impacted various aspects of hiring, including, it seems, the technologies that underpin the process. There are new variables to account for, including a surge in candidate fraud across the hiring funnel, which has created new risks to mitigate and new issues to manage.

Based on insights from more than 1,200 U.S.-based TA professionals across a mix of regions, industries, age groups, and company sizes, Employ's research indicates the shift is being driven most aggressively by younger recruiters, large enterprises, and sectors like tech, finance, and marketing, where there is tremendous pressure to innovate. Still, a dichotomy between users' high satisfaction rates and the desire to swap tech is underscored by what respondents reported as limitations with their current systems:

39 percent called out a lack of flexibility38 percent said candidate experience37 percent cited AI functionality31 percent said time to hire31 percent pointed to a lack of innovation

"While want and need are two very different things. What we see happening is actually recruiters looking ahead," shared Stephanie Manzelli, Chief People Officer at Employ. "Yes, many are happy with their existing systems, but they are planning updates for