WO Digest: Employment growing due to workers staying put; Layoff-and-rehire cycles cost more than redeployment; First govt-wide HR platform

The WO Digest: June 23, 2026

• The U.S. labor market added an average of 114,000 jobs per month during the first five months of 2026, more than triple the pace seen a year earlier. Yet hiring remains historically weak, with the hires rate near its lowest level since 2013. The reason job growth continues: quits, layoffs, and other separations have fallen even faster than hiring. The result is a "low-hire, low-fire" labor market where employment is growing largely because workers are staying put, a dynamic that may prove less durable than growth driven by robust hiring.
• A World Economic Forum article argues that companies facing AI-driven workforce disruption should focus less on external hiring and more on developing and redeploying existing talent. While AI is expected to create 170 million jobs and displace 92 million by 2030, research from Adecco Group and LHH finds that 73% of HR leaders believe layoff-and-rehire cycles cost more than redeployment, and 77% say stronger internal mobility programs could reduce layoffs. The challenge: many organizations still lack the infrastructure needed to move talent effectively within the business.
• A new study from Cognizant and Pearson finds AI is rapidly reshaping entry-level work, with 96% of HR leaders expecting early-career roles to evolve into positions that supervise or collaborate with AI systems within five years. While demand for AI training is surging, most organizations are struggling to keep pace, and many lack proactive upskilling programs. Employers are also placing greater value on interdisciplinary backgrounds and soft skills such as adaptability and problem-solving, as AI transforms both job requirements and hiring strategies.
• The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has awarded Oracle a $395.8 million contract to build the federal government's first government-wide HR platform. Powered by Oracle, the system will replace more than 100 separate HR systems, creating a single workforce management platform designed to improve efficiency, streamline hiring and retirement processes, and reduce taxpayer costs by more than 90%.
• The adoption of ILO Convention 193 marks a landmark victory for platform workers,formally recognizing platform work as work and affirming that all platform workers—whether employees or independent contractors—deserve fundamental rights and protections. Key provisions require worker classification to be based on the reality of the work performed, increase transparency and human oversight of algorithmic decision-making, and strengthen protections against violence, harassment, and unsafe working conditions.
• Facing persistent talent shortages, U.S. hospitals are increasingly funding training and certifications for workers to fill critical clinical support roles. According to KFF Health News, health systems are investing in workforce development for positions including respiratory therapists, medical assistants, radiology technicians, pharmacy technicians, and CRNAs as labor shortages, tighter margins, and reimbursement pressures make recruiting experienced talent more difficult. In effect, hospitals are becoming talent builders, not just employers. Explore our full newsfeed at workforceobserver.com and share with your team! It's fact-filled, focused and free! WO Digest is a free, weekly newsletter, delivering a round up of top stories and covering important insights into the world of work.