September 30, 2026

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Howdy! In honor of International Podcast Day (yes, it’s a thing, and yes, it’s today), please allow us the space and grace to shamelessly plug our podcast: People Person. Contending with rising healthcare costs? Trying to snag a seat on the board? Wondering how to ward off burnout for your employees and yourself? Volume up, people pro!

In today’s edition:

💡 Out of the box

💪 Got skills?

📣 Chief chat

—Paige McGlauflin, Kristen Parisi, Mikaela Cohen

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Sluggish turnover

Anna Kim

The labor market showed little sign of change in August, based on the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which noted a small increase in hires, a decrease in job openings and layoffs, and relatively consistent quits.

“If we look back over the last year, employers have been in this low-hire, low-fire environment, and that’s reflected again in the data,” Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s chief economist, told HR Brew. Let’s take a closer look.

Diving into the data. Job openings fell to 7.1 million in August, declining by 256,000 from July. Total hires rose slightly to just under 5.2 million in August, increasing by 46,000 from the month prior. Within total separations, turnover changed little or slowed further. Layoffs in August declined by 61,000, to 1.64 million total. Quits remained relatively unchanged, sitting at 3.1 million in August, the same as the month before.

Zoom out. With few people quitting and few companies hiring, it should come as no surprise to HR leaders that workers are unhappy right now. When jobs are few and far between, workers will prioritize staying put over taking a risk on a new opportunity, Zhao told us. Employers that ignore their employees’ frustrations risk letting their resentment build up.

For more on how HR teams can navigate the low-hire, low-fire labor market, keep reading here.—PM

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DEI

Civilian skills

The exterior of the Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco, California, USA.

Adobe Stock

Salesforce has teamed up with the Department of Defense SkillBridge program to help equip service members transitioning out of the military with skills for the civilian workforce, the company announced on Sept 14.

The Missionforce Military Fellowship is a 12-week program that helps service members translate and build skills for AI and technology jobs through hands-on training and mentorship. Those who complete the program will receive a Salesforce certification and a chance at full-time roles with Missionforce, the company’s platform for defense and intelligence organizations.

Just days before the announcement, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at helping veterans more quickly transition to jobs in the private sector.

This new initiative is the latest military commitment from Salesforce, which partners with programs including Hiring Our Heroes to support service members, veterans, and military spouses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more on how other employers are supporting veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce, keep reading here.—KP

Sponsored By UKG

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work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Employment scams are on the rise, victimizing some 25,000 people just last year. (the Washington Post)

Quote: “It’s just really hard for workers to enter or reenter the labor market.”—Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, on the rise of long-term joblessness among Americans, despite a low unemployment rate (Bloomberg)

Read: You get a digital twin! You get a digital twin! Everybody gets a digital twin! Hedge fund Millennium is giving its 7,000+ employees the option to team up with a personalized AI assistant in a bid to encourage the tech’s adoption. (Business Insider)

Build better benefits: Your workforce isn’t one-size-fits-all. Your benefits shouldn’t be, either. HUB helps you shape benefits around what people actually value. Hear stories from HUB advisors on how they help clients reach their ambitions. Discover HUB.*

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AI readiness report

Morning Brew Inc.

HR Brew’s State of the Industry report digs into how AI is reshaping HR’s DEI work and where the practice is heading as the political climate shifts underneath it.

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Written by Paige McGlauflin, Kristen Parisi, Mikaela Cohen, and Vicky Valet

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