Demand for skilled human resources professionals remains competitive midway through 2025. With unemployment rates for many positions well below the national average, companies must compete for the same limited pool of qualified candidates.
Staying on top of HR hiring trends allows you to target the most in-demand human resources roles and strengthen your retention efforts. Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report offers a clear view of where competition is fiercest—and how to respond.
2025 In-Demand Human Resources Roles and Hiring Trends
What does the human resources hiring market look like?
Most human resources positions tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics have seen unemployment rates trending below the May 2025 national rate of 4.2%. For example, the rate reported for human resources assistants was 3.9% in Q1 2025 and the rates for training and development specialists (3.0%), human resources manager (2.9%) and compensation and benefits specialists (2.3%) were even lower.
The industries leading the charge were education, financial services, insurance and healthcare. This trend is especially important for business leaders hiring HR professionals, as it signals where strategic HR capabilities are most needed—ensuring they recruit talent equipped to drive workforce transformation and meet the evolving demands of high-growth, people-centric industries.
What are the in-demand human resources roles?
The following positions represent the top 25% of HR roles in demand, according to an analysis of thousands of job postings and Robert Half placements:
HR manager
HR coordinator
HR generalist
Recruiter
Hiring trends for human resources in 2025
HR leaders are facing no shortage of pressure in 2025. From tightening budgets and widening skills gaps to rising expectations around employee experience, today’s workplace challenges require sharper strategies and more agile solutions than ever before.
In Robert Half’s latest research, HR executives identified their top strategic priorities for the year ahead. Leading the list: talent acquisition and recruitment, followed by training and development, compensation and benefits, employee engagement, employee relations and performance management. In short, they’re focusing on every stage of the employee journey, from hiring to retention to performance.
At the same time, expectations are shifting fast. Employees want more flexibility, more meaningful development opportunities and more transparency. Technology is evolving quickly too, pushing HR teams to adopt smarter tools—not just to automate tasks, but to deliver a better employee experience and demonstrate tangible business value.
This environment is fueling demand for professionals with more specialized skills. Cloud-based HR platforms are now the norm, not the exception. HR analytics and workforce planning tools are helping teams move from reactive to proactive. Employee experience design, once a nice-to-have, is now central to attracting and keeping top talent. And with compliance risks on the rise, expertise in employment law and regulatory frameworks is more in demand than ever.
Learn where the jobs are in demand
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Managers’ recruitment plans for the second half of 2025
HR hiring managers face the challenge of securing top-tier talent in a strong job market, with 63% planning to hire for new and vacated roles and 32% hiring for vacated roles only. Chief reasons HR hiring managers plan to staff up in the first half of 2025 are company growth (53%), followed by new projects (47%) and capitalizing on skilled talent laid off from other organizations (41%).
However, 89% of HR leaders said it’s already challenging to find skilled talent. At the same time, 63% of these leaders plan to increase their use of contract professionals through 2025.
How to compete for HR talent in a challenging hiring environment
In today’s competitive hiring market, attracting and retaining top human resources professionals requires a mix of strategies.
Salaries that meet or beat market rates are vital, but workplace flexibility, including remote and hybrid options, is prioritized by many candidates. In the HR field, 58% of new job postings have recently been for on-site positions, 33% for hybrid and 9% for fully remote roles. Policies promoting other ways to achieve work-life balance, such as personal wellness days and parental leave, can also set you apart from other companies seeking the same talent.
The opportunity to work with new technology is a significant advantage for many HR professionals today. Increasingly, they’re utilizing tools that integrate data insights with generative AI to make more informed decisions about hiring, training, and supporting employees. Platforms like Workday, UKG and SAP SuccessFactors now include features that help teams forecast staffing needs, tailor onboarding and spot opportunities for internal growth. Generative AI is also speeding up everyday tasks like writing job descriptions, connecting with candidates and analyzing employee feedback. For HR professionals, learning to use these tools is a way to develop in-demand skills and advance their careers.
And don’t forget how important it is to streamline your hiring processes. Delays often result in losing top candidates to your competitors.
Beyond these internal measures, partnering with specialized recruiters can help you identify and access high-potential candidates who may not actively be job hunting.
Want to know more about hiring trends? Check out the Demand for Skilled Talent report.
About the Demand for Skilled Talent report
The Demand for Skilled Talent report by Robert Half is an authoritative source providing essential insights into employment trends. This report has offered a deep dive into the U.S. hiring landscape for over a decade, spotlighting challenges and strategies to attract and retain talent. It explores what employees seek in their careers, identifies common recruitment errors and suggests solutions. The report spans finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources, proving crucial for business leaders and managers.
