This chapter discusses workforce strategies that employers anticipate adopting in response to the macrotrends shaping the future of work and key barriers to organizational transformation. It also analyses employers’ outlook on talent availability from now to 2030, and explores planned workplace practices and policies to achieve their organization’s business goals, with a particular focus on the shifting relationship between humans and technologies.

Skill gaps in the labour market are the primary barrier to business transformation perceived by Future of Jobs Survey respondents for the 2025- 2030 period, cited by 63% of surveyed employers (Figure 4.1). This is even more pronounced than the results described in the 2023 edition of the report, where skills gaps in the local labour market also topped the transformation barriers, backed by 60% of executives. This skill challenge persists across almost all industries and geographies, ranking first in 52 out of 55 economies and 19 out of 22 sectors.

The second most significant perceived barrier is organizational culture and resistance to change, identified by 46% of respondents as a key obstacle, which highlights the anticipated challenge of aligning internal processes, organizational structures, hierarchies and mindsets in responding to the trends and disruptions companies expect to face. Regulatory concerns are considered the third most relevant barrier, identified by 39% of employers. Moreover, 32% of respondents highlight a lack of adequate data and technical infrastructure as an additional obstacle. Other barriers, such as shortage of investment capital (26%) and insufficient understanding of opportunities (25%), are cited less frequently.

In the report’s 2023 edition, more than half of respondents identified difficulties in attracting talent as a primary barrier. This year’s survey distinguishes between industry attractiveness and firm-level attractiveness, and results show that 37% of companies view lack of industry attractiveness as a notable barrier, while 27% cite firm-specific issues.

Employers’ outlook on talent availability has decreased compared to the results highlighted in the report’s 2023 edition. This year, only 29% of businesses expect talent availability to improve over the 2025-2030 period, a drop from 39% in 2023. By contrast, 42% of employers expect talent availability to decline over this period, resulting in a net negative talent availability outlook (-13% net expectation of improvement) and highlighting increasing concern among businesses regarding their ability to find the right future talent (Figure 4.2).

However, employers remain more broadly optimistic about the outlook for talent development. Seven in 10 respondents expect improvements in talent development within their organization by 2030. However, as noted in the report’s 2023 edition, 77% of businesses expressed a positive view on the outlook for talent development, suggesting that some companies are re-evaluating their expectations.

With regard to talent retention, employers are similarly less positive than in the report’s previous edition: Only 44% of surveyed organizations expect improvements in their ability to retain talent, a decline from 53% two years ago.

Country-specific variations in talent availability outlook, as shown for hiring in Figure 4.3, reflect broader demographic dynamics. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa, employers in countries such as Egypt (+39% net expectation of improvement), Morocco (+38%), and Bahrain (+31%) display high levels of optimism about talent availability, with the majority of respondents expecting hiring conditions to improve by 2030. By contrast, employers in European economies anticipate increasing challenges in hiring availability.

Expectations around talent development shows significant regional variation. For example, companies headquartered in Eastern Asia, Sub- Saharan Africa, and Central Asia generally report high levels of optimism for the next five years. By contrast, businesses headquartered in Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, and Northern America are more cautious than global averages with regard to their expectations.

As for talent retention, employers in high-income and upper-middle-income economies express greater concern compared to their counterparts in lower-middle-income economies.

Upskilling the workforce emerges as the most common workforce strategy in response to macrotrends, over the 2025-2030 period, with 85% of surveyed employers anticipating adopting this approach (Figure 4.4). Upskilling is identified as a top 3 priority across all geographies, and economies at all income levels, with employers in high-income economies (87%) slightly ahead of those in upper-middle-income (84%) and lower- middle-income (82%) ones.

Process and task automation is expected to be the second most common workforce strategy, with 73% of employers planning to accelerate their use of this approach – down from 80% as noted in the report’s 2023 edition. Additionally, 63% of employers intend to complement and augment their workforce with new technologies. Automation is a more pronounced strategy in high-income economies (77%), compared to upper-middle-income (74%) and lower-middle- income economies (57%).

Regarding adjusting the composition of their workforce, 70% of organizations surveyed plan to hire new staff with emerging in-demand skills, 51% intend to transition staff from declining to growing roles internally, while 41% foresee staff reductions due to skills obsolescence. A slightly higher share of employers plan to move operations within closer control through reshoring, nearshoring or friendshoring (10%) than those who plan to offshore significant parts of their workforce (8%).

The importance of supporting employee health and well-being has newly emerged as a top priority to increase talent availability over the 2025-2030 period. As shown in Figure 4.5, 64% of employers now see promise in this approach, a marked rise from 9th place in the 2023 edition of this report to 1st this year. In fact, this newfound emphasis on this practice holds importance across industries, ranking first in eight sectors and consistently within the top four across all others. In the Insurance and Pensions Management sector, 85% of companies expect this practice to improve talent availability.

The Accommodation, Food, and Leisure, and Education and Training sectors witnessed the largest jump in prioritizing employee well-being between 2023 and 2025. Additional business practices identified as promising to increase talent availability include providing effective reskilling and upskilling opportunities43, highlighted by 63% of organizations, this is particularly evident in the Government and Public sector, where four out of five respondents expect such measures to grow their talent base. Following closely behind, improving talent progression and promotion, previously ranked highest in the 2023 edition, remains a key focus for 62% of surveyed organizations. Higher wages are identified as a priority by 50% of respondents, with particular significance in the Education and Training sector, where 61% of employers emphasize this measure.

Tapping into diverse talent pools continues to increase in importance, with almost half of surveyed employers (47%) now emphasizing the potential of this strategy – a substantial increase from just over 10% in the report’s 2023 edition. These findings highlight the potential of skills-first approaches in identifying and attracting talent based on skills rather than traditional credentials.44 In line with this, employers also show increased interest in offering flexibility measures, such as enabling remote work across national borders (27%) and supporting workers with caregiving responsibilities (26%).

By contrast, articulating business purpose and impact has seen a decline in emphasis, dropping from 4th place in the report’s 2023 edition, with 37% of employers highlighting the promise of this measure.

Box 4.1 Talent availability: an employee perspective

In collaboration with ADP Research

To complement the Future of Jobs Survey’s focus on employer perspectives on talent availability, collaboration for this report with ADP Research has produced a data set that provides the employee perspective, aiming to understand the key factors and priorities that would make workers want to stay in a job. The resulting analysis reveals both convergences and divergences in priorities for talent attraction and retention (Figure B4.1).

Where employees’ reasons to stay and employers’ practices align include: improving talent progression and promotion processes (employer rank 3rd vs. employee rank 2nd), offering higher wages (employer rank 4th vs. employee rank 3rd), and providing remote or hybrid work opportunities (employer 6th vs. employee 4th).

The findings also highlight areas of misalignment between employee and employer expectations. The divergence is most pronounced around supporting health and well-being and upskilling and reskilling, which are viewed as essential by employers, but less so by employees, who rank them 8th and 7th, respectively. By contrast, employees place higher value on working hours, which tops the list of desired policies, while employers rank this measure the eighth most effective strategy to boost talent availability; and pension policies, which rank 5th for employees – 10 places higher than for employers.

Both employees and employers placed less emphasis on supporting workers with caregiving responsibilities and articulating business purpose and social impact.

Globally, when asked about the public-policy interventions with the highest perceived potential to increase access to talent over the 2025-2030 period, employers identified funding for reskilling and upskilling (55%) and provision of reskilling and upskilling (52%) as the two most crucial policy measures (Figure 4.6). This points to businesses’ desire for sustained public investment in skills development to align workforce capabilities with future labour-market demands.

Improving public education systems has risen in perceived priority and now ranks 3rd, with 47% of respondents highlighting this policy measure, up from 4th in the report’s 2023 edition. In Israel, Kazakhstan and the Philippines, public education system improvements saw the largest increase in priority as a public policy measure to enhance talent availability, rising seven, six, and six places, respectively, compared to 2023. Simultaneously, wage-setting flexibility has moved to 5th place globally, up from 6th in 2023, with 38% of respondents highlighting this policy measure.

Wage subsidies saw the biggest decline in perceived importance, moving from 3rd in 2023 to 8th in this year’s edition, with 26% of respondents pointing to it as a critical policy tool. Flexibility in hiring and firing practices, ranked 4th, has declined two places since 2023, now highlighted by 44% of employers. Despite the overall decline in emphasis on this measure, wage subsidies remain the top highlighted policy in Türkiye and Morocco, while hiring and firing flexibility is the most emphasized priority in eleven countries, including Australia, Brazil, Republic of Korea and Singapore.

In light of demographic shifts, companies are increasingly exploring policy interventions aimed at broadening the talent pool. Changes to labour laws related to remote work are highlighted as a priority by 36% of employers, with strong demand in particular from companies headquartered in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as, from an industry perspective, in the finance industry (both Financial Services and Capital markets and Insurance and Pensions Management). Changes to immigration laws (26%) are less emphasized, with the exception of industries such as Production of Consumer Goods; Accommodation, Food, and Leisure; and Electronics. Meanwhile, a quarter of respondents (25%) highlight changes to pension schemes and retirement ages. Companies headquartered in Eastern Asia, where the effect of ageing workforces is currently more pronounced, favour this public policy. By contrast, few organizations headquartered in regions with younger populations, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, see the potential of such policy intervention.

Globally, the Future of Jobs Survey finds increased emphasis by employers on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, connected to a growing perception of its potential to increase talent availability. Tapping into diverse talent pools is now considered among the top 5 most impactful business practices to increase talent availability, compared to its 11th place ranking in the report’s 2023 edition.

Eighty-three percent of surveyed employers have implemented diversity, equity and inclusion measures, an increase from 67% in 2023. This trend is especially strong among larger organizations, where nearly all companies with over 50,000 employees (95%) and those headquartered in Northern America (96%) report having such measures in place. By contrast, companies headquartered in lower-middle-income economies (75%) and smaller organizations (73%) are less likely to implement diversity, equity and inclusion measures.

As shown in Figure 4.7, 51% of employers plan to run diversity, equity and inclusion trainings for managers and staff, which remains the most common such programme element anticipated to be implemented by organizations in the next five years. This is closely followed by targeted recruitment, retention and progression initiatives (48%), with diversity, equity and inclusion goals, targets and quotas (42%) experiencing the fastest growth in anticipated adoption. In the report’s 2023 edition, only one-quarter of companies had planned to adopt such targets (Figure 4.8). Pay equity reviews and salary audits, anti-harassment protocols and support for workers with caregiving responsibilities are also increasingly highlighted, with 39%, 33% and 26% of companies, respectively, planning to adopt these measures. Hiring diversity, equity and inclusion officers and supporting employee resource groups (ERGs) are less commonly mentioned, adopted by 15% and 22% of surveyed organizations, respectively.

Geographic differences persist. For example, as shown in Table 4.1, companies headquartered in the Middle East and Northern Africa are less likely to engage in pay equity reviews (23%), while those in Latin America and the Caribbean are more inclined to implement anti-harassment protocols (54%). In Northern America, a significantly higher share (42%) of employers anticipates setting up ERGs.

In terms of employee demographics, women are considered the highest priority group for surveyed employers’ diversity, equity and inclusion programmes worldwide, with 76% of respondents anticipating a focus of their measures on this group (Figure 4.9). Workers with disabilities (56%) and ‘Gen Z’ youth (those under the age of 25) (52%) are the second- and third most considered groups. Older workers (those over the age of 55) and those identifying as LGBTQI+ are anticipated to be a focus for 42% and 33% of surveyed employers, respectively. Finally, 27% of respondents anticipate a focus on individuals from disadvantaged religious, ethnic, or racial backgrounds. This represents a decline from the report’s 2023 edition, when nearly two-fifths of employers expected to be focusing on individuals from these groups. Workers from low-income backgrounds (24%) and migrants, refugees and displaced workers (21%) are the least commonly mentioned groups.

As the labour market experiences shifts in workforce dynamics due to macrotrends such as technological change, demographic shifts and economic uncertainty, wage dynamics have become an increasingly important factor for understanding the shape of future labour markets. As revealed by the Future of Jobs Survey, more than half (52%) of employers globally expect to see an increase in the share of their revenue allocated to wages over the 2025-2030 period, 41% of surveyed employers anticipate their current wage allocation to remain stable, while 7% foresee a reduction by 2030 (Figure 4.10).

Smaller companies exhibit higher expectations regarding growth of wages as a share of total revenues, with 57% of employers with fewer than 1,000 employees anticipating an increase in wage share. By contrast, only 45% of employers with 10,000–50,000 employees and 47% of those with over 50,000 employees expect to see the same.

In shaping wage and compensation policies, two factors stand out globally: workers’ productivity and performance (cited by 77% of respondents) and competing to retain talent (cited by 71%) (Figure 4.11). Sector-wise, only six industries expect an emphasis on competition for talent over productivity and performance as a factor in their wage considerations: Electronics, Insurance and Pensions Management, Professional Services, Real Estate, Medical and Healthcare Services, and Government and Public Sector. All other industries anticipate a focus on productivity as the more crucial factor when designing wage strategies over the 2025- 2030 period.

Geographically, surveyed companies operating in 32 economies highlight wage alignment with productivity and performance as the key factor, while respondents in 28 economies indicate a greater focus on competition for talent when determining wage strategies. Wage inequalities (cited by 33% of respondents), government regulations and collective bargaining (32%), and cost reduction strategies (30%) are also influencing compensation decisions globally.

Box 4.2 Wage premium for skills and experience

In collaboration with ADP Research

Given shifting global workforce dynamics, how are differences in education, training and experience reflected in wages? Analysis conducted by ADP Research for the Future of Jobs Report 2025 addresses this question by analysing monthly wage data of workers in the United States according to Occupation Information Network (O*NET) job zones. The O*NET data assigns all occupations to job zones, from entry-level positions needing minimal preparation (Job zone 1) to highly specialized roles with extensive preparation, usually demanding graduate school education and extensive job training and work experience (Job zone 5). The research analyses wages at each job zone to calculate a wage premium from one level of workforce preparedness to another.

Workers’ median and mean wages increase as the job zone level increases (Figure B4.2A). On average, the median wage is 37% higher for each job zone level (Figure B4.2B). The highest gap between levels is 48%, which is the difference in median wage between job zone 3, where workers such as Security Guards and Dental Laboratory Technicians usually receive vocational training or an associate degree, and job zone 4, where workers have considerable preparation for the job. The lowest median wage premium gap is 27%, between job zone 4 and job zone 5, which is made up of primarily specialized roles that require extensive training, such as Pharmacists, Lawyers and Biologists.

The mean wage premium is higher, averaging 58% per job zone level, with the marginal premium spiking the jump from jobs requiring considerable preparation, such as Real Estate Brokers and Sales Managers, to specialized roles with extensive preparation, the highest level.

The gap between the median and mean wage premium – the two curves in Figures B4.2A and B – indicates that there exists a wide pay range within the same job zone, and that wider pay ranges are more prevalent for workers in more specialized roles.

Assessing the wage premium for skills through a gender lens reveals that men tend to have a higher wage premium across all zone transitions except one. Men, on average, experience a 44% wage premium between job zones, whereas women see a 30% premium (Figure B4.3).

Gender disparities are most pronounced at specific transitions. While male workers receive a wage premium of 39% at the point of transition from jobs that require little preparation to jobs that require some preparation, the equivalent wage premium for female workers is only 19%. At the upper end of the job complexity spectrum, women only receive a 15% higher wage for working in specialized jobs that require extensive preparation compared to jobs that require considerable preparation. This contrasts sharply with a 44% higher median wage at this transition point for men.

Removing academic degree requirements and conducting skill-based hiring is an increasingly recognized approach to expanding talent availability.45 As shown in Figure 4.12, work experience continues to be the most common assessment mechanism in hiring processes, with 81% of businesses expecting to continue to rely on it over the 2025-2030 period. This is consistent with previous editions of the report, underlining the value employers place on practical, on-the-job learning and achievements. Only 4% of companies report that they do not assess the skills of prospective employees, highlighting that skills evaluation is almost universal across industries.

The second most common method of evaluation is skills assessments, expected to be utilized by 48% of employers, highlighting a growing emphasis on directly testing candidates’ competencies rather than relying solely on their resumes. In addition, psychometric tests are planned to be used by 34% of businesses, reflecting an increased focus on evaluating candidates’ behavioural traits, cognitive abilities and cultural fit.

The requirement of a university degree features in third place of employers’ approaches to skills assessment, with 43% of respondents expecting to continue to use degrees as a requirement by 2030. Comparison with the previous edition of this report shows that employers are increasingly focusing on work experience and psychometric testing over traditional credentials like university degrees. This shift signals a growing recognition that practical skills and cognitive abilities may be more indicative of future job performance than formal educational qualifications, in addition to expanding the talent pool. O*NET’s database of job experience requirements reveals that 14 of the 15 fastest- growing jobs over 2025 to 2030 primarily require a university degree, while only seven of the 15 largest-growing roles demand an advanced degree. This reliance on traditional credentials in rapidly expanding roles could exacerbate talent shortages. Adopting a skills-first approach can broaden talent pools and strengthen talent pipelines for these future roles.46 Moreover, the diverse requirements of the largest-growing jobs highlight the critical role of occupations that are often accessible through vocational training, apprenticeships, on-the-job experience, or associate degrees.

However, the expected use of apprenticeships, short courses and online certificates in skills assessment has seen a slight decline since the report’s 2023 edition: 17% of employers anticipate prioritizing apprenticeships while 14% plan to consider online certificates in their hiring decisions.

The Future of Jobs Survey finds that 86% of employers expect AI and information processing technologies to transform their business by 2030. In the Financial Services (97%) and Electronics (95%) sectors, anticipated AI exposure is notably higher than the global average. By contrast, employers in sectors such as Energy Technology and Utilities (72%) and Government and Public Sector (76%) expect lower exposure to AI disruption by 2030. Larger organizations are considering it more likely that their business model will be transformed by AI: only 6% of companies with over 50,000 employees expect low AI exposure by 2030, compared to 16% of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and 15% of those with 1,000-5,000 employees.

Complementing the Future of Jobs Survey, the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey captures insights from more than 11,000 executives worldwide. Regarding barriers to AI adoption, as presented in Figure 4.13, half of executives worldwide highlight a lack of skills to support adoption as the top barrier. This is closely followed by a lack of vision among managers and leaders (43%). Other obstacles include high costs of AI products and services (29%), lack of customization to local business needs (24%), complex regulations around AI and data usage (21%), and limited consumer demand (16%). Overall, these results point to a persistent gap in skills required for AI adoption, both for managers and workers.

In response to expected AI disruption, reskilling and upskilling of the existing workforce to work more effectively alongside AI emerges as the most anticipated workforce strategy for companies headquartered in 45 out of the 55 economies covered by the report. By 2030, 77% of surveyed employers plan to implement this strategy (Figure 4.14).

In addition, 69% of respondents plan to recruit talent skilled in AI tool design and enhancement, and 62% anticipate focusing on hiring individuals with skills to work with AI. Almost half of organizations are expecting to reorient their business models toward new AI-driven opportunities (49%), while 47% plan to transition employees from AI-disrupted roles to other positions. While most employers plan to hire new people with AI relevant skills, a significant share (41%) also expect to downsize their workforce as AI capabilities to replicate roles expand.

Box 4.3 Relative AI job and skill concentration, by industry

In collaboration with LinkedIn

Analysis conducted by LinkedIn for the Future of Jobs Report 2025 assesses the relative AI job and skill concentration for 10 industries. This data is calculated by assessing the number of AI occupations and the number of LinkedIn members with at least two reported AI-related skills for each industry. As shown in Figure B4.4, to enable industry comparisons, each sector’s AI concentration is benchmarked against the 2016 value of the industry with the highest AI concentration in 2016 (Education).

This analysis helps illustrate which industries have seen the greatest AI uptake, in terms of AI- related jobs and skills as well as AI concentration trends over time. While AI concentration has at least doubled across nearly all industries since 2016, the relative ranking of industries has stayed largely stable. Over the last five years, the order of industries with the highest AI concentration has remained unchanged.