De staffingsector verandert: zijn werkgevers voorbereid?

De arbeidsmarkt koelt op sommige plekken af, maar talent vinden blijft lastig. Nieuwe cijfers van de World Employment Confederation laten zien hoe organisaties moeten inspelen op veranderende vaardigheden en arbeidsmarktkansen.

De wereldwijde arbeidsmarkt groeit nog altijd, maar niet overal in hetzelfde tempo. In veel landen neemt de vraag naar personeel af en dalen de vacaturecijfers, terwijl de arbeidsmarkt in onder meer België, Nederland en Oostenrijk krap blijft. Ook binnen de uitzendsector zijn de verschillen tussen regio’s groot. Van een breed herstel is dan ook nog geen sprake. De markt lijkt zich vooral geleidelijk te stabiliseren.

Voor organisaties verschuift de uitdaging daarmee van het vinden van het juiste talent naar het koppelen van de juiste vaardigheden aan de juiste kansen. Vooral zorgfuncties, gespecialiseerde techrollen en leiderschapsfuncties blijven moeilijk in te vullen. Daarbij zijn niet alleen vaktechnische vaardigheden belangrijk: communicatie is wereldwijd de meest gevraagde vaardigheid. Volgens de WEC moeten staffingbedrijven zich daarom steeds meer opstellen als workforce partners, die werkgevers en werknemers ondersteunen met arbeidsmarktinformatie, betere skillsmatching, bijscholing, herplaatsing en loopbaanbegeleiding.

Hieronder lees het volledige artikel van WEC in het Engels.

The staffing industry is changing shape. Are employers ready for what comes next?

As hiring becomes more selective and skills shortages persist, the way organisations access talent is being rewritten.

For a while, the labour market story has been straightforward, hiring is slowing, businesses are cautious and economic uncertainty is making employers think twice before adding headcount.

But the latest Labour Market Intelligence Insights Q3 2026 from the World Employment Confederation (WEC) suggests the picture is more complicated. The labour market isn’t booming, neither is it collapsing buts it is being rewritten.

A labour market stabilising unevenly

Global growth remains positive, although increasingly uneven. The US, India and parts of Asia continue to perform relatively strongly, while growth across much of Europe remains modest. Vacancy rates have eased across many markets, signalling softer hiring demand. Yet labour markets remain tight in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. Belgium’s vacancy rate stands at 3.4%, compared with around 1% in the US and UK.

Fewer vacancies do not necessarily mean finding talent has suddenly become easier.

Fewer vacancies, but talent is still hard to find

Fewer vacancies do not necessarily mean finding talent has suddenly become easier. In fact, the report points to an important contradiction: organisations may be hiring more cautiously while still struggling to find the people they need.

Some signs of demand are already improving. Unfilled vacancies have started to stabilise or recover in markets including the US, Switzerland, Finland and Portugal, while Germany and Austria continue to show more subdued hiring activity. Overall, the picture is one of gradual stabilisation rather than a broad-based recovery.

Agency work reflects the same unevenness. Hours worked by agency workers increased 11.9% in Chile, 8.1% in Canada, 5.8% in India and 5.1% in the US, compared with 0.6% in Europe. Online agency job postings grew 5% globally, but regional differences were significant: Europe recorded 9% growth while Asia declined 3%, although after a huge growth spurt in the previous quarter.

The challenge is shifting from hiring to skills matching

For organisations managing talent, this matters because the challenge is shifting. It is becoming less about how many people are available and more about whether the right skills can be matched to the right opportunities.

Healthcare is perhaps the clearest example. Physicians, medical directors, nurse anaesthetists and other healthcare professionals dominate the global list of hardest-to-fill occupations, alongside specialist technology and leadership roles.

It is becoming less about how many people are available and more about whether the right skills can be matched to the right opportunities.

And technical expertise is not the whole story. Communication remains the most requested skill across employer and staffing demand globally, highlighting the continued importance of human skills alongside professional qualifications.

From staffing provider to workforce partner

As skills shortages persist and workers move between roles, sectors and forms of work, organisations need better workforce intelligence, skills matching, reskilling, redeployment and career support. The WEC report points towards a staffing industry that increasingly acts as a workforce partner, helping employers and workers navigate these transitions.

For employers, that means looking beyond traditional talent pools. For workers, it means keeping skills relevant and transferable. And for the wider talent ecosystem, it means getting better at connecting people with opportunities, even when those opportunities, and the skills they require, are changing.

The labour market may be cooling in some places. But the need to match talent with opportunity isn’t going away. If anything, it is becoming more important.

Read the full Q3 2026 Labour Market Intelligence Insights from the World Employment Confederation.