Results of the 2026 June QuickPulse Survey – US Talent Pressures

The pressure on HR teams isn’t easing up. While the hiring frenzy of the past few years may have cooled in some industries, organizations are still navigating talent shortages, workforce strain, evolving employee expectations and the rapid rise of AI in the workplace.

Mercer’s June 2026 QuickPulse US Talent Pressures — Hiring, Pay & AI Survey, which gathered responses from 330 organizations across the United States, paints a picture of employers balancing immediate staffing needs with long-term workforce transformation. From speeding up hiring and strengthening retention strategies to investing in automation and upskilling, organizations are taking a multifaceted approach to talent management.

Hiring speed remains a top priority

Although hiring conditions have shifted since the height of the labor shortage, many HR teams are still under pressure to fill positions quickly. 63% of organizations said business leaders are pushing HR to fill critical roles faster than usual, while 36% reported pressure to avoid losing candidates to counteroffers or simply hire faster overall (35%).

Employers aren’t just focused on speed, though. Survey comments suggest that many organizations are also navigating hiring freezes, compensation challenges and a growing interest in using AI to improve recruiting processes. Others emphasized that the quality of hire remains just as important as reducing time-to-fill.

This highlights the balancing act HR teams face today as they aim to hire efficiently without sacrificing candidate quality.

Talent shortages continue to affect operations

Talent shortages remain widespread, although their severity varies. 37% of organizations reported occasional talent shortages with some operational impact, while another 8% said shortages are frequent and significantly affecting operations. Only a small percentage (16%) reported no shortages at all.

Despite these challenges, turnover appears to be stabilizing. 40% of organizations said turnover is about the same as it was before the pandemic, while fewer organizations (4%) reported significantly higher turnover.

That suggests organizations may be finding more stability in retention, even as finding skilled talent remains difficult.

Pay remains the strongest recruiting tool

Compensation remains one of the most effective levers organizations use to compete for talent. Over the past six months, the most common retention and attraction strategies included sign-on bonuses, market pay adjustments, referral bonuses and one-time retention awards. Many employers also enhanced benefits, including additional paid time off./p>

Looking ahead, organizations plan to continue relying on many of these same strategies. Sign-on bonuses, benchmark pay adjustments, referral incentives and retention awards remain high on employers’ priority lists for the next six months.

Rather than relying on a single solution, employers appear to be combining multiple reward strategies to strengthen both recruitment and retention efforts.

What to do when people are hard to find?

When positions remain vacant, organizations are finding new ways to keep work moving. The survey found that employers (55%) are equally likely to hire contractors or temporary workers as they are to automate tasks using AI or other technologies. Many are also redesigning roles, reducing workloads or asking employees to take on additional hours.

When asked what would help the most, employers pointed first to better pay and incentives (24%), followed by better manager support and more automation (17%), additional training (16%) and faster hiring processes (8%).

These responses suggest organizations recognize there isn’t a single solution to talent shortages. Success requires improvements across recruiting, compensation, workforce planning and technology.

Persistent workforce strains

Even when organizations successfully fill positions, workload challenges remain. 34% of respondents said employees are experiencing occasional increases in workload, while another 36% reported frequent or consistent workload increases requiring overtime or additional resources. A small but notable group (3%) reported critical workload levels leading to burnout, absenteeism or turnover.

To help reduce burnout, employers have used a variety of approaches over the past six months, including wellness and mental health support (52%), AI-powered automation (50%), workload prioritization (50%) and role clarity (49%).

Looking ahead, automation rises to the top of employers’ plans, with 59% of organizations planning to use AI to eliminate lower-value tasks over the coming months.

Closing skills gaps has become a strategic priority

Finding qualified talent is only part of the challenge. Many organizations (54%) are also working to build critical skills internally. Leadership and management skills emerged as the area with the greatest need (25%), followed by frontline operations (19%), cybersecurity/IT engineering (18%), skilled trades (16%) and sales (10%). Survey comments also highlighted growing demand for AI expertise, engineering talent and technology-focused roles.

To close these gaps, organizations are investing first in upskilling and internal training. External hiring remains important, but many employers are also using automation (30%), internal mobility programs (29%), apprenticeships (23%) and partnerships with outside vendors (18%) to strengthen their talent pipeline.

This combination of internal development and external recruiting reflects a broader shift toward building workforce resilience over the long term./p>

AI is becoming part of everyday work

Perhaps the most significant trend in the survey is the growing role of AI in day-to-day operations. 71% of organizations are already using AI for simple tasks such as drafting content or creating summaries, while another 62% are piloting AI in selected business processes. Only a small percentage (3%) are not using AI or automation at all.

At the same time, relatively few organizations have fully updated their people practices to reflect AI’s impact. While some have revised job descriptions (40%), performance expectations (21%), workforce planning (19%) or career paths (17%), 44% said they have not yet made any formal updates to impacted roles.

This suggests many organizations are still in the early stages of integrating AI into broader talent management strategies.

HR plays a central role in workforce decisions

Despite increasing business pressures, HR continues to play a central role in organizational decision-making. Most organizations reported that business leaders rarely or never move forward with solutions without involving HR. However, among organizations where this does happen, the most common actions include purchasing software or AI tools (63%), hiring contractors directly (37%) or outsourcing work (23%).

As AI adoption accelerates and workforce needs evolve, maintaining strong collaboration between HR and business leaders will likely become even more important.

Key takeaways for efficient talent management

The survey makes one thing clear: Talent management has become far more than simply filling open positions. Today’s HR leaders are balancing hiring speed, competitive pay, workforce wellbeing, skills development and AI adoption.

Rather than relying on one solution, employers are taking a well-rounded approach by investing in compensation, automation, employee development and smarter workforce planning. Organizations that successfully combine these strategies will likely be better positioned to attract and retain the talent they need.

Want to learn more on how to improve your talent management?

Here at Mercer, we provide first-in-class salary benchmarking surveys and workforce insights to help you shape pay structures, total rewards programs and more to stand out in a competitive labor market.

To get started, connect with our team at 855-286-5302 or surveys@mercer.com.