With the labor market cooling, experts have said that now is the best time for employers to invest in their existing employees. The only problem is that companies aren’t actually doing that.

That’s according to recent research from Workday. Despite a modest increase in hiring demand in the first half of this year, internal hiring and promotion rates have actually fallen.

Hiring demand was up 6% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, down slightly from the 7% YoY increase in the first half of 2024, according to Workday’s internal data and external surveys.

However, internal hiring fell 8% YoY, and only 30% of all hires in June were internal. Additionally, promotion rates fell in 10 of the 11 industries tracked by Workday; manufacturing was the only one to see an increase in promotions….