What managers are looking for: 2025 HR hiring trends
Are HR jobs in demand in Canada? Based on our research, the answer is yes. Here’s a snapshot of HR managers’ hiring plans and the challenges they face:
60 per cent are focused on hiring new staff for permanent roles.An additional 34 per cent need to backfill permanent roles that have become vacant.A whopping 95 per cent are grappling with the challenge of finding skilled talent, underscoring the competitive nature of the HR job market.
HR leaders’ strategic priorities for the remainder of 2025
Human resources teams across Canada are focused on the below for the second half of 2025.
Top priorities for permanent staff:
Training and development
Talent acquisition and recruitment
Compensation and benefits
Top priorities for contract staff:
Training and development
Employee relations
Talent acquisition and recruitment
Contract talent trends in HR
More than two thirds – 69 per cent – of HR managers plan to hire more contract professionals in the second half of 2025. According to these managers, the top benefits of engaging contract talent include:
Flexibility in scaling their workforceAccess to specialized skills or expertiseCost savings compared to permanent hiresFaster staffing for critical roles
Data methodology
The surveys cited were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-plus employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.
Over 420,000 new positions from more than 5,400 unique independent job boards and company websites provided by TextKernel are represented in our analysis of in-demand roles, including 6,300-plus placements from Robert Half. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources professions.
