In the report’s 2023 edition, more than half of respondents identified difficulties in attracting talent as a primary barrier. This year’s survey distinguishes between industry attractiveness and firm-level attractiveness, and results show that 37% of companies view lack of industry attractiveness as a notable barrier, while 27% cite firm-specific issues. Talent availability outlook Employers’ outlook on talent availability has decreased compared to the results highlighted in the report’s 2023 edition. This year, only 29% of businesses expect talent availability to improve over the 2025-2030 period, a drop from 39% in 2023. By contrast, 42% of employers expect talent availability to decline over this period, resulting in a net negative talent availability outlook (-13% net expectation of improvement) and highlighting increasing concern among businesses regarding their ability to find the right future talent (Figure 4.2). However, employers remain more broadly optimistic about the outlook for talent development. Seven in 10 respondents expect improvements in talent development within their organization by 2030. However, as noted in the report’s 2023 edition, 77% of businesses expressed a positive view on the outlook for talent development, suggesting that some companies are re-evaluating their expectations. With regard to talent retention, employers are similarly less positive than in the report’s previous edition: Only 44% of surveyed organizations expect improvements in their ability to retain talent, a decline from 53% two years ago. Talent availability when hiring Talent development of existing workforce T alent retention of existing workforce -100 -50 +100 Share of employers surveyed (%) 0 +50-13% +66% +25%Talent outlook, 2025-2030 FIGURE 4.2 Source World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.Share of employers surveyed expecting a positive, neutral and negative outlook for talent availability, talent development and talent retention over the next ﬁve years. Expected to worsen Net difference Expected to improve Neutral Country-specific variations in talent availability outlook, as shown for hiring in Figure 4.3, reflect broader demographic dynamics. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa, employers in countries such as Egypt (+39% net expectation of improvement), Morocco (+38%), and Bahrain (+31%) display high levels of optimism about talent availability, with the majority of respondents expecting hiring conditions to improve by 2030. By contrast, employers in European economies anticipate increasing challenges in hiring availability. Expectations around talent development shows significant regional variation. For example, companies headquartered in Eastern Asia, Sub- Saharan Africa, and Central Asia generally report high levels of optimism for the next five years. By contrast, businesses headquartered in Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, and Northern America are more cautious than global averages with regard to their expectations.As for talent retention, employers in high-income and upper-middle-income economies express greater concern compared to their counterparts in lower-middle-income economies. Future of Jobs Report 2025 50