As global labor markets cool down but economic concerns persist, employers are rethinking the traditional 9-to-5, full-time employee workforce model and leaning on flexible talent strategies, according to a recent survey.

ManpowerGroup’s latest Employment Outlook Survey of more than 40,000 employers across 42 countries, including over 6,000 from the U.S., found that temporary workers now handle 24% of specialized, short-term tasks. For comparison, permanent employees handle about 39% of such tasks.

Flexible talent could play an increasing role as organizations manage workforce planning in an uncertain economy, the report found. Nearly half of those surveyed plan to maintain current staffing levels this quarter, signaling a move toward long-term workforce redesign rather than short-term cuts.

A changing landscape

According to Ger Doyle, regional president, ManpowerGroup North America, it’s a stable market overall, but still with much indecision driven by “macro” factors.

“U.S. employers are embracing flexible talent models to stay competitive in a shifting economy,” Doyle says. “As hiring slows, the focus is on agility, tech readiness and creating workplaces that attract and retain top talent.”

The research found that 41% of employers cite attracting qualified candidates as their biggest obstacle; at the same time, 39% see work/life balance as the most effective retention strategy. More than one in four employers (27%) are hiring specifically to keep pace with technological change. Among those reducing staff, over 39% point to economic uncertainty as the main driver.

“Employers perceive they have an advantage in negotiating terms like pay and work location as the global talent shortage slightly eases, but this can change quickly, as we have seen previously,” Doyle says.

3 strategies to win with flexible talent

With that, Doyle offers imperatives for HR leaders looking to embrace flexible talent strategies in this new reality.

Master the art of workforce composition, not just headcount

Doyle says the most telling data point isn’t that hiring is slowing, it’s that 45% of employers globally are holding steady on headcount while fundamentally reshaping how work gets done. “HR leaders need to think like portfolio managers now,” he says, adding that when temporary workers handle a decent share of tasks, that’s not cost-cutting; that’s strategic workforce design.

“The organizations winning today aren’t just hiring people anymore, they’re assembling the right mix of talent for each situation,” Doyle says. “HR needs to get comfortable managing permanent employees alongside contractors and consultants.”

Get really good at hiring for what matters

ManpowerGroup’s U.S. research uncovered that 41% of employers can’t find qualified candidates, but new job postings dropped 19% month-over-month in August.

“That tells you companies are getting picky about where they spend their hiring dollars,” he says. The pattern is clear: Organizations are doubling down on roles that directly support their core business or help them adapt to change, whether that’s AI specialists or the people who keep operations running day to day.

“HR leaders who can spot these critical roles across all functions and build targeted pipelines are the ones winning right now,” he says.

Economic uncertainty is the new “planning parameter”

While one-third of companies plan to reduce staff due to economic uncertainty, that figure dropped slightly from 35% earlier this year.

“That suggests businesses are getting better at managing through unclear times,” he says. Companies aren’t panicking; rather, he says, they’re “recalibrating.”

The HR teams succeeding in this environment have built flexibility into everything they do. With that, they can ramp up hiring for critical roles when they see opportunity, and they maintain their core team when things get bumpy.

“It’s workforce planning, not workforce hoping,” he says.

Being successful in that work isn’t about “doing more with less” but instead about being “smart” with your talent strategy.

“The companies that come out ahead,” Doyle says, “will have HR leaders who learned to read the signals, build flexible teams and stay focused on what actually drives their business forward. Everything else is just noise.”