50% of Companies Are Hiring More Full-Time Workers in 2025 (Here's Why That's Huge)

Plot twist for 2025: after years of everyone predicting the death of full-time employment and the rise of the gig economy, 50% of companies are actually hiring MORE full-time workers this year. And get this—85% of those companies expect revenue growth, making this one of the most optimistic hiring environments we've seen in years.

If you've been banking on the "everyone's going freelance" narrative, it's time to pivot. The full-time workforce is making a comeback, and companies are betting big on permanent headcount. Let's break down why this matters and what it means for recruiting strategy.

The Numbers That Signal a Major Shift

50% of organizations are increasing full-time hiring in 2025—not contractors, not temps, not gig workers. Full-time employees with benefits, stability, and long-term commitment. This is a significant reversal from the "flexible workforce" trend that dominated post-pandemic hiring strategies.

Even more telling: 85% of companies increasing full-time hires expect revenue growth this year. This isn't defensive hiring to plug gaps—it's strategic investment in growth. Companies are confident enough in their trajectory to commit to permanent headcount.

The shift is happening across industries: tech, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and professional services are all expanding full-time workforces. This isn't isolated to one sector—it's a broad market movement.

Why Companies Are Choosing Full-Time Over Contingent

For years, we've heard the gospel of workforce flexibility: gig workers, contractors, and fractional employees give companies agility without long-term commitment. So why the sudden shift back to full-time?

Retention and institutional knowledge: Companies realized that high contractor turnover was bleeding institutional knowledge and disrupting team cohesion. Full-time employees stick around longer, develop deeper expertise, and build relationships that improve collaboration.

Culture and engagement: You can't build strong company culture with a rotating cast of contractors. Full-time employees invest more in organizational success, contribute to culture-building, and drive innovation in ways that transactional contractor relationships don't support.

Cost efficiency at scale: For ongoing roles that require continuous work, full-time employees are often more cost-effective than contractors. Once you factor in contractor markups, onboarding overhead, and productivity losses from constant turnover, FTEs frequently win the ROI calculation.

Competitive talent acquisition: Top talent increasingly prefers full-time roles with benefits, stability, and career growth potential. Companies competing for high-caliber professionals are finding that offering full-time positions gives them an edge in recruiting.

Regulatory and compliance considerations: Many jurisdictions have tightened regulations around misclassification of contractors, making it riskier and more expensive to rely heavily on contingent workers. Full-time hiring reduces legal exposure.

What This Means for Recruiters

If you've been building recruiting strategies around contingent workforce models, this shift requires recalibration.

Long-term talent pipeline development: Recruiting full-time employees requires different strategies than filling contract roles. You're not just matching skills to immediate needs—you're assessing cultural fit, growth potential, and long-term organizational alignment.

Employer branding matters more: Candidates evaluating full-time opportunities care deeply about company culture, values, and reputation. Your employer brand directly impacts your ability to attract quality full-time talent.

Benefits and total rewards strategy: Full-time candidates expect competitive benefits packages, career development opportunities, and clear advancement paths. If your total rewards package isn't compelling, you'll lose candidates to competitors.

Higher stakes on quality of hire: Bad full-time hires are expensive—far more so than ending a contractor engagement. The pressure to get hiring decisions right increases significantly when you're committing to permanent headcount.

Retention becomes critical: It's not enough to hire great people—you need to keep them. Full-time workforce expansion requires equally strong focus on employee experience, development, and retention strategies.

The Industries Leading the Charge

Not all sectors are expanding full-time hiring equally. Here's where the growth is concentrated:

Technology: Despite recent layoffs dominating headlines, many tech companies are rebuilding full-time teams with more strategic hiring. The difference? They're hiring for sustainable growth, not the unsustainable hypergrowth that led to overextension.

Healthcare: Chronic staffing shortages are driving aggressive full-time hiring across clinical and administrative roles. Healthcare organizations are prioritizing stability and continuity of care.

Professional services: Consulting, accounting, and legal firms are expanding full-time capacity to meet growing client demand. The project-based contractor model isn't scaling effectively for firms experiencing sustained growth.

Manufacturing: Reshoring and supply chain restructuring are driving full-time manufacturing hiring in North America. Companies building domestic production capacity need stable, trained workforces.

The Gig Economy Isn't Dead (But It's Evolving)

Before anyone panics: the gig economy isn't disappearing—it's finding its proper place in workforce strategy. Smart companies are using a hybrid approach: full-time employees for core functions and strategic roles, contractors and gig workers for specialized projects, seasonal demand, and niche expertise.

The most effective workforce strategies in 2025 combine full-time stability with contingent flexibility—not one or the other, but both deployed strategically based on business needs.

How to Capitalize on This Trend

If you're recruiting in 2025, here's how to leverage the full-time hiring surge:

Reposition your employer value proposition: Emphasize stability, growth opportunities, and long-term career development. Candidates are increasingly valuing these factors after years of economic uncertainty.

Streamline your full-time hiring process: Speed matters—top full-time candidates get multiple offers quickly. If your hiring process takes 8 weeks, you're losing candidates to faster competitors.

Invest in onboarding and integration: Full-time hires need robust onboarding to succeed and stick around. Companies expanding headcount can't afford high early-tenure turnover.

Build talent communities: Proactive pipeline development for full-time roles pays dividends. Don't wait until you have an opening—nurture relationships with potential candidates continuously.

Focus on quality over speed: Bad full-time hires are costly mistakes. Take the time to assess thoroughly—it's worth a slightly longer hiring process to get the right person.

The Bottom Line

The pendulum is swinging back toward full-time employment, and 50% of companies are betting on permanent headcount growth as a path to sustainable success. This isn't nostalgia for "how things used to be"—it's strategic recognition that building great organizations requires stable, engaged, long-term teams.

For recruiters, this means shifting focus from transactional hiring to strategic talent acquisition. You're not just filling seats—you're building the workforce that will drive your company's growth for years to come.

The companies that nail full-time hiring in 2025 will have a massive competitive advantage. The ones still trying to run on a contingent workforce patchwork? They'll be left scrambling to catch up.

Sources:

The Daily Hire