Economic slowdowns. Manufacturing standstills. Hiring freezes. These phrases are showing up more and more in conversations with our members, and for good reason. Across industries, especially in manufacturing-heavy regions like North Carolina, many organizations are facing tough calls about staffing and budgets.
Yes, some companies are slowing their recruitment efforts. In some cases, layoffs are looming. But that doesn’t mean your people—or your priorities—have to stall out too.
Here’s what we’re seeing, and more importantly, how you can keep moving forward when it feels like the brakes are on.
Here’s What We’re Seeing Among Employers Right Now
These are real trends from Catapult members navigating this moment:
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Workloads are rising as teams stay lean longer than expected.
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Managers are stretched, often assuming roles they haven’t been trained for.
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Morale is fragile. Teams are grateful to remain employed, but anxious about what’s next.
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HR is in the spotlight and is expected to provide calm, clarity, and direction.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
What’s Behind the Hiring Freeze?
Let’s start with the obvious: uncertainty is driving caution.
For many employers, current hiring freezes aren’t about panic but planning. Leaders are pausing to reassess:
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Budget allocations for the remainder of 2025
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Production demand in light of stalled orders or supply chain disruptions
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Internal structures to make sure the right people are in the right roles before bringing in new ones
This moment of pause, though difficult, also creates space for smarter decision-making. But only if you know what to do with it.
What’s Working Right Now (And What’s Not)
From conversations with hundreds of employers, a few patterns are emerging:
What’s helping:
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Focusing on development instead of headcount. Teams that prioritize learning are staying sharper and more engaged.
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Getting an outside perspective. Sometimes an objective voice helps cut through internal noise and make a clear plan.
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Keep the dialogue open. Honest conversations—even tough ones—build trust when it’s needed most.
What’s backfiring:
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Freezing everything. When hiring stops, so does momentum—unless you create other ways to keep growing.
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Overloading high performers. Stretching your best people too thin doesn’t lead to loyalty—it leads to burnout.
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Waiting for perfect clarity. It rarely comes. Progress happens when teams adapt in the middle of the unknown.
The Road Ahead: Steady, Not Stagnant
This isn’t about rushing to replace every open role or pretending everything’s fine. It’s about making steady moves—even small ones—that keep your culture, people, and priorities from stalling out.
Sometimes that means cross-training instead of hiring.
Sometimes it’s giving people time to upskill instead of trying to do more with less.
And sometimes it’s just asking for help strategically, temporarily, or even quietly.
You’re Not Alone
We’ve walked through this before with organizations like yours. The details change, but the questions stay the same:
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What do we need now?
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What can wait?
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How do we take care of our people without losing our edge?
There are no perfect answers. But there are better ways through.
Want to talk it through? Grab a time on my calendar that works for you. We’ll sort through next steps, strategy, and what’s realistic right now.
