The most important recruitment stats from our latest report

Our data shows recruitment is getting harder

Across the board, a majority of candidates and employers are saying recruitment is getting harder. 

1. 63% of employers say it’s getting harder to find talent

2. 71% of job seekers say it’s getting harder to find a job

3. This goes up to three quarters for Gen Z

4. 89% of UK and 86% of US employers are having problems with resumes

This is happening for a myriad of reasons, which are explored in the report. To give you an idea:

• Over half  of employers (51%) say they struggle to determine if candidates have the right technical skills

• 53% say the same about soft skills

• 35% are finding it difficult to know if candidates are a good fit for the company culture

• 1 in 5 say they aren’t getting enough candidates full stop

On top of this, a concerning recruitment trend stands out in the job seeker data:

Hiring bias is rising

Here’s what job seekers told us:

1. 42% have experienced hiring bias this year

2. This is up from 31% in 2024 and 21% in 2023

3. 3 in 5 (59%) of job seekers have trouble standing out with their resume

4. 54% say they’ve been overlooked because of a lack of experience or qualifications

Despite this, 79% of UK and US employers say having a more diverse team is important to their company, and 84% say building an inclusive culture is important. There’s a disconnect somewhere – and it’s more important now than ever for employers to follow through on their commitments to inclusive hiring.

AI is now commonly used for recruitment

Next up: How many employers are using AI for recruitment – and how are they using it? 

1. 51% employers are using AI to source candidates

2. 6 in 10 are using AI to write job descriptions

3. 59% are using AI to screen resumes

4. 2 in 10 are using AI to interview candidates

5. 73% say they’ve noticed a rise in AI-generated resumes

6. 7 in 10 say they’re easy to spot

7. 37% of job seekers are using AI to complete applications

AI usage is soaring and it’s here to stay. It’s bringing results, too.

Employers say AI is improving the recruitment processes

94% of employers who are using AI in recruitment told us it’s bringing improvements. Here’s a breakdown of the impact AI is having:

1. 47% say AI has improved their hiring process significantly

2. 47% say AI has improved their hiring process slightly

3. 5% say AI hasn’t really improved their hiring process

4. >0.5% say AI has made their hiring process worse

Want more stats about AI in general? Head to this blog

Which recruitment tools are employers using?

Whilst AI tools are all the rage, there’s plenty of other tech and tooling to use for recruitment. We asked employers which tools they’re using, and this is what they told us: 

1. 85% of companies are using skills-based hiring in 2025

2. This is compared to 81% in 2024 and 73% in 2023

3. 59% of those employers started using skills-based hiring in the last two years.

4. 76% are using skills tests of some kind

5. 30% are using cognitive ability tests

6. 31% are using role-specific tests

7. 16% are using work sample assignments

8. 23% are using self-report tests

9. 77% are using interviews

10. 33% are using cover letters

11. 67% are using resumes

Resumes a recruitment pain point in 2025

In 2025, resumes still stand out as a core pain point for recruiters. 2 in 3 are still using them, and most of them are having problems:

1. 1 in 3 can’t tell from a resume if an applicant has the skills they need

2. 2 in 5 (39%) find it hard to rank candidates using resumes

3. 36% say they don’t know when a resume is accurate

4. 1 in 4 recieve too many resumes to read

5. 27% say applicants’ resumes are too similar

But it goes beyond that. We asked US and UK employers: What’s the most difficult part of their recruitment process today? 

Here’s a breakdown of their answers.

Degree requirements are still being contested

Alongside resumes, degree requirements have been a hotly contested recruitment topic this year. Where do employers stand?

1. Over half (53%) of employers have eliminated degree requirements

2. This is a 77% increase from last year when only 30% had removed them

3. Despite this, 41% say it’s more important to have a degree than it was five years ago

4. 32% think it’s less important than it was five years ago

5. US employers are more likely to remove degree requirements 

Skills tests becoming increasingly popular

With 3 in 4 (76%) companies using skills tests, they’re becoming a mainstay in modern recruitment. Here’s a breakdown of the skills tests being used:

• 69% are using soft skills tests

• 50% are using cognitive ability tests

• 35% are using self report tests

• 33% are using multi-measure testing

• 28% are using language tests

Increasing skills test usage is bringing results, and it’s set to continue – 96% say their budget for skills evaluation will either increase or stay the same in the next 12 monts. As for the benefits:

• 71% say skills tests are more predictive of job success than resumes

• 65% say employees hired using skills tests stay in their roles longer

• 3 in 5 reduced their time-to-hire by incorporating skills tests

• 2 in 3 reduced their mis-hires by using skills tests

When does recruitment go wrong?

Our stats show that recruitment goes wrong when employers don’t understand enough about their candidates to truly know whether they’re a good match or not. A good match isn’t dictated by skills and experience alone; it’s also to do with making sure a candidate’s motivations and expectations for growth are aligned with the employer’s. 

In fewer words: Our stats show recruitment goes wrong when a hiring process isn’t holistic enough. Here’s the data.

78% of employers have hired a candidate with strong technical skills who did not perform well due to a lack of soft skills or poor cultural fit. When we asked about the consequences of this mis-match:

• 41% said it decreased team productivity

• 42% said it increased employee turnover

• 38% said it had a negative impact on company culture

• 44% said it caused challenges with collaboration or communication

Half of candidates say they’ve been a mis-hire

52% of job seekers say they’ve been on the other side – they’ve had strong technical skills for a job but haven’t been successful because of a lack of soft skills or a poor cultural alignment. This is more common in the UK (56%) than the US (49%). 

When we asked this cohort about the consequences of being the mis-hire:

• 32% said they found it difficult to work with the team

• 54% said they felt unhappy or unfulfilled on the job

• 2 in 5 said they struggled to communicate effectively

• 1 in 4 left the job entirely

Context-rich recruitment leads to better outcomes

So what do the stats tell us about how to stop recruitment from going on? It’s fairly simple. The majority agree that context-rich recruitment leads to better hiring outcomes.

72% of employers and 82% of job seekers agree it's better for companies to consider the whole person – including their skills, personality, and cultural alignment – rather than just their technical skills or experience.

When we asked employers about the benefits of hiring for a combination of technical skills, soft skills, motivation and cultural alignment:

1. 6 in 10 said it leads to improved team performance

2. 1 in 2 said it leads to increased retention

3. 58% said it improves team cohesion

4. 43% said it fosters a better company culture

5. 43% said it improves collaboration and communication

Recommended reading: How to measure motivation

Head to the report for more recruitment insights

Thanks for reading. For more stats about recruitment, skills and beyond, head to our 2025 report.