8 in 10 U.S. Companies Surveyed Aren’t Hiring for New Roles, Hire With Near Finds

By EIN Presswire On Oct 30, 2026

Of the companies not adding roles, 43% said demand isn’t steady enough to justify a new role, and 21% said AI now covers work a new hire would have done.

Hire With Near, a staffing and recruiting that helps U.S. companies hire remote talent in Latin America, has released survey findings showing that more than eight in 10 of the U.S. companies it heard from aren’t hiring for new roles. Of 102 U.S. founders, hiring managers, human resources leaders and department heads who described their company’s hiring between Oct. 21 and Oct. 26, 2026, 60% said their company is only replacing people who leave, 23% said it is holding off on hiring altogether, and 18% said it is hiring for new roles.

The findings put reasons behind a pattern economists have called “low hire, low fire” for more than a year: employers are letting few people go, but adding few new ones. In August, the U.S. hiring rate was 3.3% and the layoffs rate was 1.0%, both little changed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported the weakest September hiring plans since 2011.

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Each of the 84 companies that are only replacing people or holding off was counted once, under the main reason it gave:

– 43% said demand isn’t steady enough to justify committing to a new salary
– 21% said AI or automation now covers work a new hire would have done
– 10% said they reviewed the work before posting a role and found a process problem they could fix without hiring
– 7% said their current team can handle the workload
– 6% said finding qualified people was the bigger problem, mostly companies in trades such as heating and cooling, plumbing and roofing

Many of the companies citing demand described a similar problem. The work is there, but they can only forecast a few months ahead, and a busy month or a promising pipeline isn’t enough to justify a long-term salary. For some, the uncertainty starts with their own customers, who are delaying purchases or splitting large projects into phases.

The 18% still adding roles are mostly hiring for jobs that bring in revenue or serve customers directly, such as technicians, specialists and client-facing staff. Asked what would get them hiring again, the companies holding back most often named sustained demand: several months of steady orders, longer client contracts or a specific deal closing.

“A lot of the founders I talk to have more work than their teams can handle, and they still won’t open a new role until they’re sure the demand will hold,” said Hayden Cohen, CEO of Hire With Near. “Many of our calls right now are for backfills. Someone left, and the seat needs covering. When a company does add a role, it can tell you exactly what that person will bring in or which customers they’ll serve.”

Hire With Near’s placement data shows the same focus on revenue roles among U.S. companies that hire in Latin America. The firm’s placements grew 31% in the first half of 2026 compared with the previous six months, and hiring for sales development representative had the most demand, according to its Midyear Hiring Report.

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