Data & Research March 17, 2026 • Updated: 6 November 2026

Employer branding
statistics 2026

50+ verified employer branding statistics, each linked to its source. From the talent shortage (72% of employers) and hiring costs to retention, reviews, pay transparency, EVP drivers, Gen Z and labor market data. Sources: ManpowerGroup, LinkedIn, Gallup, Deloitte, Randstad, BLS and more.

72%

of employers worldwide struggle to fill roles

Source: ManpowerGroup, 2026

7.5M

open jobs in the US (September 2026)

Source: BLS JOLTS, 2026

96%

of Gen Z say purpose at work matters

Source: Deloitte, 2026

Statistics overview

Hiring is still hard in 2026. ManpowerGroup finds that 72% of employers worldwide struggle to fill roles, and 66% of recruiters say qualified talent has become harder to find (LinkedIn). At the same time, only 20% of employees worldwide are engaged (Gallup). Employer branding is how you stand out in that market: the reputation that makes the right people apply, accept and stay.

Employer branding goes far beyond a polished careers page or a few Instagram posts. It is the total experience that candidates, employees, and alumni have with your organization as an employer, from the first review a candidate reads to the exit experience years later. In the UK, 19% of workers have skipped an application because of a company's reputation and 15% have turned down an offer for that reason.

But what do the numbers actually say? What does a hire cost? How much does reputation matter to candidates? What do employees look for in an employer? What does Gen Z expect? And how tight is the labor market in the US and Europe?

This page contains 50+ verified employer branding statistics, each linked to its source, from ManpowerGroup, LinkedIn, Gallup, Deloitte, Randstad, SHRM, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Eurostat and others. The statistics are organized into 10 themes: from recruitment costs and candidate quality to social media, EVP, global labor market trends, Gen Z expectations, and future trends.

Whether you are building a business case for employer branding, presenting a strategy to leadership, or simply staying informed: this data page gives you the evidence you need. And if you want to strengthen your employer brand through LinkedIn Ads, it is worth knowing that LinkedIn now has 1.4 billion members.

Section 1

Recruitment costs & ROI

~$4,700

average cost-per-hire (US)

SHRM, 2022

39 days

median time-to-fill, nonexecutive roles (US)

SHRM, 2026

10%+

extra cost per hire with a bad reputation

HBR, 2016

2x

applicants per US open role since spring 2022

LinkedIn, 2026

What hiring costs

  • The average cost per hire in the US was nearly $4,700, according to SHRM benchmarking data (SHRM, 2022)
  • Median time-to-fill for nonexecutive positions fell to 39 calendar days in SHRM's latest benchmark of more than 4,600 organizations (SHRM, 2026)
  • A bad reputation costs a company at least 10% more per hire, according to LinkedIn's Wade Burgess in Harvard Business Review (Harvard Business Review, 2016)
  • LinkedIn data shows US applicants per open role have doubled since the spring of 2022 (LinkedIn, 2026)
  • 42% of recruiters feel growing pressure to fill roles faster, and 39% to uncover 'hidden gem' candidates (LinkedIn, 2026)
Section 2

Candidate quality & hiring

52%

of people worldwide are looking for a new role in 2026

LinkedIn, 2026

66%

of recruiters find qualified talent harder to find

LinkedIn, 2026

19%

of UK workers skipped an application over reputation

Midnight/Censuswide via HRreview, 2026

Candidates and recruiters in 2026

  • 52% of people globally are looking for a new role in 2026, and 65% say finding a job has become more challenging (survey of 19,113 people in 14 markets, November 2025) (LinkedIn, 2026)
  • 66% of recruiters say it has become harder to find qualified talent over the last year (6,554 HR professionals) (LinkedIn, 2026)
  • 72% of employers worldwide report difficulty filling roles, down from 74% a year earlier (39,063 employers in 41 countries) (ManpowerGroup, 2026)
  • In the UK, 19% of workers decided not to apply for a role because of a company's reputation, and 15% turned down a job offer for that reason (1,000 employees, February 2026) (Midnight/Censuswide via HRreview, 2026)
  • 41% of Gen Z employees in the UK have accepted a job because of a company's reputation, compared with 5% of Baby Boomers (Midnight/Censuswide via HRreview, 2026)
Section 3

Employee retention & engagement

20%

of employees worldwide are engaged (2025)

Gallup, 2026

78%

less absenteeism in top-quartile engaged units

Gallup, 2024

0.5-2x

annual salary to replace one employee

Gallup, 2019

2.1%

monthly quits rate in the US (September 2026)

BLS JOLTS, 2026

Engagement and turnover

  • Global employee engagement dropped to 20% in 2025, from a peak of 23% in 2022 (263,810 respondents) (Gallup State of the Global Workplace, 2026)
  • Manager engagement declined from 27% to 22% in the latest year (Gallup, 2026)
  • Business units in the top quartile of engagement show 78% less absenteeism, 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity (sales) than the bottom quartile (Gallup Q12 meta-analysis, 2024)
  • Top-quartile engagement goes with 21% lower turnover in high-turnover organizations and 51% lower turnover in low-turnover organizations (Gallup Q12 meta-analysis, 2024)
  • 52% of employees who quit say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent it; replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary (Gallup, 2019)
  • Gen Zs with close friends at work are more likely to stay: 48% plan to stay more than five years, against 33% of those without (millennials: 61% vs 43%) (Deloitte, 2026)
  • US hires were 5.4 million in September 2026, with a quits rate of 2.1% (BLS JOLTS, 2026)
Section 4

Glassdoor & Indeed impact

83%

of US job seekers research reviews before applying

Harris Poll for Glassdoor via LHH, 2023

48%

of Dutch job ads on Indeed show pay

Indeed Hiring Lab, 2026

61-82%

more likely to apply when salary is listed

Indeed via HRreview, 2026

Reviews and reputation

Pay information on Indeed

  • Share of job postings with salary information: UK 56%, Netherlands 48%, France 43%, Ireland 39%, Italy 36%, Spain 17%, Germany 12% (Indeed Hiring Lab, 2026)
  • Between 61% and 82% of job seekers surveyed by Indeed said they were more likely to apply if salary information was included (Indeed via HRreview, 2026)
Section 5

Social media & video employer branding

1.4B

LinkedIn members worldwide

LinkedIn, 2026

71M

companies on LinkedIn

LinkedIn, 2026

Channels and employee voice

  • LinkedIn has 1.4 billion members and 71 million companies on its platform (LinkedIn, 2026)
  • 81% of people have used or plan to use AI in their job search (LinkedIn, 2026)
  • Almost half of UK employees say how current staff talk about a company shapes their view of its reputation most, which makes employee voice on social media a core employer branding channel (Midnight/Censuswide via HRreview, 2026)
Section 6

Employee value proposition

166,000+

respondents in Randstad Employer Brand Research

Randstad, 2026

51%

name a positive work environment the top enabler of work-life balance

Randstad, 2026

~40%

of Gen Zs and millennials rejected work or an employer on ethics

Deloitte, 2026

What employees look for

  • The top five EVP drivers worldwide are salary and benefits, work-life balance, job security, work atmosphere and career progression (more than 166,000 respondents, 34 markets, 6,400+ companies) (Randstad Employer Brand Research, 2026)
  • 51% of workers see a positive day-to-day work environment as the top enabler of a healthy work-life balance (Randstad, 2026)
  • In each year from 2023 to 2026, roughly 40% of Gen Zs and millennials rejected an assignment or a potential employer based on their personal ethics (Deloitte, 2026)
  • 54% of Gen Zs and 58% of millennials say their current job is mostly or completely aligned with their values (Deloitte, 2026)
  • 83% of UK employees believe businesses should weigh their impact on people, society and the environment alongside profit (Midnight/Censuswide via HRreview, 2026)
Section 7

Global labor market trends

7.5M

open jobs in the US (September 2026)

BLS JOLTS, 2026

4.1%

US unemployment rate (October 2026)

BLS, 2026

72%

of employers report talent shortages

ManpowerGroup, 2026

4.1%

job vacancy rate in the Netherlands, highest in the EU

Eurostat, 2026

Talent shortage by sector and country

  • By sector: Information 75%, Hospitality 74%, Public sector, health and social services 74%, Professional, scientific and technical services 73%, Manufacturing 72%, Finance and insurance 71% (ManpowerGroup, 2026)
  • By country: Germany 83%, France 74%, UK 73%, US 69%, China 48% (the least constrained major market) (ManpowerGroup, 2026)
  • Companies with 1,000-4,999 employees report the highest shortage (75%), businesses with fewer than 10 employees the lowest (64%) (ManpowerGroup, 2026)
  • For the first time, AI skills are the hardest to find: AI model and application development (20%) and AI literacy (19%) (ManpowerGroup, 2026)

US and Europe

Section 8

Gen Z & future workforce

96%

of Gen Zs say purpose at work matters

Deloitte, 2026

74%

use AI in their day-to-day work

Deloitte, 2026

48%

of Gen Zs feel burned out

Deloitte, 2026

Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2026

22,595 Gen Zs and millennials in 44 countries, surveyed between November 2025 and January 2026.

  • 96% of Gen Zs and 97% of millennials say a sense of purpose at work is important to their job satisfaction and well-being (Deloitte, 2026)
  • 74% of Gen Zs and millennials use AI in their day-to-day work, up from 57% and 56% a year earlier (Deloitte, 2026)
  • Only 6% say reaching a leadership position is their primary career goal (Deloitte, 2026)
  • 63% of Gen Zs rate their mental health as good or extremely good, but 34% feel anxious or stressed most or all of the time and 48% feel burned out (Deloitte, 2026)
  • 69% feel their employer takes employee mental health seriously, up 14 to 15 points since 2024 (Deloitte, 2026)
Section 9

ROI & budgets

~$10T

lost productivity from low engagement (9% of GDP)

Gallup, 2026

23%

higher profitability in top-quartile engaged units

Gallup, 2024

The business case in numbers

  • Low engagement costs the global economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity, or 9% of GDP (Gallup, 2026)
  • Top-quartile engaged business units achieve 23% higher profitability than the bottom quartile (Gallup Q12 meta-analysis, 2024)
  • For a 100-person organization with an average salary of $50,000, turnover and replacement costs come to roughly $660,000 to $2.6 million per year (Gallup, 2019)
  • A bad reputation adds at least 10% to the cost of every hire (Harvard Business Review, 2016)
Summary

Key takeaways

1

Hiring is expensive

A US hire costs nearly $4,700 on average (SHRM), and a bad reputation adds at least 10% per hire (HBR).

2

Reputation decides

83% of US job seekers research reviews before applying, and 19% of UK workers skipped an application over reputation.

3

Retention pays

Replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their salary, and highly engaged units see up to 51% lower turnover (Gallup).

4

Gen Z is different

96% say purpose matters, about 40% have rejected work on ethics and 48% feel burned out (Deloitte 2026).

5

AI changes recruiting

93% of recruiters will use more AI in 2026, and 81% of job seekers use or plan to use AI in their search (LinkedIn).

6

Talent shortage persists

72% of employers report shortages (ManpowerGroup 2026). In a market like that, employer branding is no luxury: it is a necessity.

Methodology & sources

The statistics on this page are compiled from publicly available research reports. Every figure links to the source it was taken from; in November 2026 we checked each figure again and removed statistics we could not trace to an original source. Key sources include:

  • ManpowerGroup: Global Talent Shortage Survey 2026
  • LinkedIn: Research Talent 2026, company figures
  • Gallup: State of the Global Workplace 2026, Q12 meta-analysis, turnover research
  • Deloitte: Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2026
  • Randstad: Employer Brand Research 2026
  • SHRM: recruiting benchmarks
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics: JOLTS, Employment Situation
  • Eurostat, Indeed Hiring Lab, Microsoft Work Trend Index, Harvard Business Review, EUR-Lex and UK survey data reported by HRreview

Disclaimer: Figures come from the most recent available editions of the linked reports; the year in each source link is the year of publication. Survey results describe the markets surveyed and are not always representative of every country. This page is compiled for informational purposes and does not constitute HR or strategic advice. Looking to strengthen your employer brand through LinkedIn? Check out our LinkedIn Ads management service for targeted recruitment campaigns.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much can you save on recruitment costs with employer branding?

There is no recent independent benchmark that isolates the savings of a strong employer brand. What is measured: the average cost per hire in the US was nearly $4,700 (SHRM, 2022), the median time-to-fill for nonexecutive roles is 39 days (SHRM, 2026), and a bad reputation costs at least 10% more per hire (Harvard Business Review, 2016). A stronger reputation reduces those extra costs and the time vacancies stay open.

What is the difference between employer branding and recruitment marketing?

Employer branding is the long-term strategy of building your reputation as an employer: how people experience your company as a workplace. Recruitment marketing refers to the specific campaigns and tactics used to promote open positions. Employer branding is the foundation; recruitment marketing is the activation.

Which social media channels matter most for employer branding?

LinkedIn is the largest professional network, with 1.4 billion members and 71 million companies (LinkedIn, 2026). Just as important is the voice of your own people: almost half of UK employees say the way current staff talk about a company most shapes their view of its reputation (Midnight/Censuswide, 2026). Choose the channels where your target candidates and your employees already are.

How do you measure employer branding success?

Common KPIs are cost-per-hire, time-to-fill, quality-of-hire, offer acceptance rate, employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), review ratings, engagement with employer content and employee retention. Benchmarks help: SHRM puts the median time-to-fill for nonexecutive roles at 39 days (2026), and Gallup measured global engagement at 20% in 2025.

How much do companies invest in employer branding?

We found no reliable, recent benchmark for employer branding budgets, so we do not publish one. The cost of not investing is measurable: replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary (Gallup), and low engagement costs the global economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity (Gallup, 2026).

What does Gen Z expect from employers in 2026?

Purpose and well-being: 96% of Gen Zs say a sense of purpose at work is important, and roughly 40% have rejected an assignment or employer based on their ethics. 74% use AI in their daily work, 48% feel burned out, and 69% feel their employer takes mental health seriously (Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2026).

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Ruud ten Have

Compiled by

Ruud ten Have

Ruud is a digital marketer with 10+ years of experience in online advertising and AI implementation. At Searchlab, he combines strategic thinking with hands-on AI tooling to deliver measurable results for businesses.

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