Today, GoodTime released its fourth annual Hiring Insights Report, a comprehensive analysis based on an independent study of over 500 U.S. talent acquisition (TA) leaders, revealing the most pressing challenges and emerging trends shaping the hiring landscape in 2025.
The report uncovers a challenging talent market where TA teams met just 47.9% of their hiring goals in 2024 on average, marking the lowest success rate recorded in the past four years. Persistent bottlenecks, increasing time-to-hire, and rising candidate expectations have strained hiring efficiency across industries.
At the same time, the report reveals key opportunities for 2025, including greater use of AI and automation, streamlined hiring tools, and a renewed focus on candidate experience — strategies that top-performing teams are already embracing to stay competitive.
Key findings from the 2025 Hiring Insights Report:
- Time-to-hire challenges: 60% of organizations reported longer time-to-hire in 2024, with interview cancellations and scheduling delays identified as the top bottlenecks.
- Surging AI adoption: 99% of talent acquisition teams now use AI and automation to streamline hiring processes, with 93% planning additional technology investments in 2025.
- Candidate experience focus: Top-performing teams were 55% more likely to focus on candidate experience improvements.
- Sector-specific insights: Healthcare was the only sector to show year-over-year improvement in hiring goal attainment (56%), while retail, manufacturing, financial services, and technology all lagged further behind.
Talent leaders eye bold moves in 2025
“The data makes it clear — talent teams can’t afford to stay stuck in the hiring struggles of 2024,” said Ahryun Moon, CEO and Co-Founder of GoodTime. “The path forward demands bold investments in automation and AI to eliminate bottlenecks and meet hiring goals faster. But efficiency alone isn’t enough. The teams that will win in 2025 are those that balance speed with exceptional, human-centric hiring experiences.”
The 2025 Hiring Insights Report shows that talent acquisition leaders are taking decisive action to improve hiring efficiency and outcomes in the year ahead, and focusing on five key areas to overcome hiring challenges:
Driving operational efficiency with AI and automation
AI and automation are now essential tools for modern talent acquisition. 99% of teams reported the use of these technologies and nearly all leaders are planning additional investments in 2025. Streamlined and automated workflows reduce administrative burdens, allowing recruiters to focus on strategic hiring efforts and improving overall operational efficiency.
Eliminating bottlenecks in the hiring process
Time-to-hire remains a critical challenge, with 60% of organizations reporting delays, largely due to interview cancellations and scheduling issues. Addressing these bottlenecks requires proactive strategies such as AI-powered analytics for identifying recurring issues, intelligent interviewer selection tools, and automated reminders and rescheduling workflows. These efforts help reduce scheduling conflicts and improve hiring speed.
Enhancing the candidate experience to stay competitive
Top-performing TA teams set themselves apart by prioritizing the candidate experience. Personalized experiences, such as branded candidate portals with real-time updates and anonymous feedback collection, keep candidates informed and engaged throughout the hiring process. Additionally, AI-driven insights help interviewers come better prepared for conversations, ensuring a smoother and more effective interview that creates a more engaging candidate experience.
Leveraging data-driven insights for better decision-making
Data and analytics have transformed hiring strategies, and nearly half of teams reported using AI-powered insights for better decision-making. Leading organizations are using these tools to detect inefficiencies, benchmark performance against industry standards, and implement real-time analytics for continuous process improvement, to make more informed decisions faster.
Committing to continuous process improvement
TA leaders emphasize the need for continuous refinement of hiring processes to stay competitive. This includes regular process audits using hiring data and feedback, ongoing interviewer training, and aligning hiring strategies with broader business goals. A culture of continuous improvement ensures hiring teams remain agile and capable of adapting to evolving market conditions.
How challenges differed across sectors
The 2025 Hiring Insights Report revealed that hiring challenges varied significantly across sectors. For example, healthcare was the only sector to report year-over-year improvements in hiring goal attainment, reaching 56%. Conversely, the retail and manufacturing sectors faced some of the highest struggles, with hiring goal attainment dipping to 36% — its lowest in three years.
The financial services and technology sectors cited interview scheduling delays and capacity issues as primary barriers to success. Companies in these sectors have increasingly adopted automated interview scheduling tools and leverage AI to manage interviewer capacity more effectively. Meanwhile, the retail sector reported a surge in candidate drop-offs due to prolonged hiring timelines, highlighting the critical need for faster, more efficient hiring processes.
The 2025 Hiring Insights Report offers further analysis and detailed recommendations for talent leaders seeking to improve hiring outcomes. The full report is available at goodtime.io.
