July 28, 2026

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Greetings, friends! Genuinely appreciate your opening this newsletter during these dog days of summer. We can’t promise the same vibes as the summer sun on your skin, but we can try.

In today’s edition:

📉 Low hire, low fire

✍️ Words matter

💬 People person

—Paige McGlauflin, Kristen Parisi, Lance Holt

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Jobless claims

Job seekers stand in line at a job fair in Carson, California on June 30 2026.

Getty Images

Considering all the recent high-profile layoffs at companies including Disney, Samsung, and Amazon, you’d think that jobless claims would be reaching new heights. However, the reality appears to be the opposite, according to the newest preliminary unemployment claims data from the Department of Labor.

Record low. Initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 for the week ending July 18, down 22,000 from the week prior, according to the DOL’s report. That’s the lowest level reported since 1969. Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving unemployment benefits, reached 1.86 million for the week ending July 4, up 64,843 from the week prior, but down by nearly 175,000 year over year.

As the labor market has cooled in recent years, and economic uncertainty has upended long-term business planning, employers have adopted a “low hire, low fire” mentality, avoiding drastically increasing and decreasing their headcounts. Fewer layoffs have meant fewer unemployment claims. Additionally, as the labor force participation rate has shrunk, so has the pool of available workers, making employers hesitant to conduct layoffs.

Eye on uncertainty. Economic uncertainty, fueled by many factors including the US-Israeli war with Iran and elevated energy prices, continues to loom over employers’ talent strategies. Should these pressures persist, employers could be forced to cut costs and turn to layoffs.

For more on how HR leaders can prepare for an uncertain economic future, keep reading here.—PM

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A new era of hiring

Indeed is defining a new era of hiring—and yes, HR can join from anywhere, even the sacred “camera off” zone.

As AI sweeps through recruiting, the smartest teams understand the key is knowing when technology should move fast and when human judgment should grab the wheel.

Indeed FutureWorks brings global hiring leaders together Sept. 2 and 3 to unpack that balance. Speakers include Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun (who is steering an iconic brand into its next chapter), AI expert Ethan Mollick, and trust authority Rachel Botsman.

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Explore the speaker lineup, hear what’s next, and learn how leading organizations are navigating the evolving world of hiring.

DEI

Language shift

An image of hands over a laptop with a job search window on the screen.

Getty Images

The language employers use around fair chance hiring can impact how prospective job seekers view them and how likely they are to apply to their jobs, according to new research in the Journal of Management.

Some 37 states, including New York, Arizona, and Hawaii, have fair chance hiring policies to provide employment access to formerly incarcerated people. However, how companies frame these policies can affect how they are perceived by applicants.

The research examined the language used by companies in job descriptions to disclose fair chance hiring. Some offered no rationale for the policy, while others presented a moral or business case.

For more on the research, and what it might mean for the language used in job descriptions, keep reading here.—KP

HR STRATEGY

Please post responsibly

Morning Brew

HR used to happen behind closed doors. Now some of its biggest names are building followings, dropping hot takes, and racking up views—should the rest of the profession be doing the same?

Kate Noel, SVP and head of people operations at Morning Brew, sat down with Emily Durham, career coach, content creator, and the author of Clock In, to talk about what happens when the workplace doesn’t stay at work in a recent episode of HR Brew’s People Person podcast. They covered the social media sweep every recruiter secretly does, the fine line between posting your life and posting your grievances, and why telling employees to “always be on” might say more about your company than it does about them.

Sponsored By EasyLlama

Compliance questions? Sorted. Of all of the reasons HR pros love their jobs, compliance training usually doesn’t make the list. Still, it’s a critical piece of the job. That’s why EasyLlama created the Compliance Grader. It’s a free resource that identifies training requirements for your company in a few minutes.

work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Roughly 70% of immigrants with Temporary Protected Status comprise today’s labor force, mostly in construction and healthcare. American businesses and the US Chamber of Commerce are warning of a potential labor shortage after the Supreme Court cleared the way for President Trump to gut the humanitarian program. (the New York Times)

Quote: “Do we need more people? Do we need less people? We have no idea. No one has any idea…AI introduces so much uncertainty with employers, not sure knowing what they need or don’t need.”—Paul Osterman, an MIT professor emeritus, on labor market uncertainty in the midst of the AI transformation (the Wall Street Journal)

Read: Big Tech is turning to a familiar (more compassionate?) exit strategy for dealing with headcount changes after years of widespread post-pandemic layoffs. (Business Insider)

The future of hiring: Indeed FutureWorks shows hiring leaders how to balance AI and human judgment, with free virtual talks from experts. Register now to hear how organizations are navigating the future of hiring.*

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EVENT

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Morning Brew Inc.

Turns out Match Group knows a thing or two about making good matches. Hear from D.V. Williams, Chief People Officer, as he shares how thoughtful total rewards strategies help attract, retain, and support today’s workforce at The Total Rewards Equation on September 17.

Jobs

More focus, less fluff. CollabWORK filters out the noise and delivers jobs that actually match what HR Brew readers are looking for. Click here to see the full board of curated roles.

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Written by Paige McGlauflin, Kristen Parisi, Lance Holt, and Adam DeRose

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☕️ Lay(offs) low