COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE
par The Stepstone Group
Stepstone analysis: Career switching, job security and AI shape the labor market in 2026
EQS-Media / 16.12.2025 / 09:03 CET/CEST
Press release
Stepstone analysis: Career switching, job security and AI shape the labor market in 2026
Julius Probst, labor market expert and economist at The Stepstone Group, explains which developments shaped 2025 and which trends will define the labor market in the coming year.
Trend 1: Career changes remain a priority – 2026 marks the first year with fewer new entrants to the labor market
Companies are clearly focusing more strongly on career changers. Sixty-four percent plan to actively hire people from other professional backgrounds in the coming year. Seventy-seven percent want to adjust their selection criteria and place greater emphasis on skills. Many companies are thus moving toward skills-based hiring, a recruiting approach in which practical abilities carry more weight than formal qualifications. This development is driven primarily by demographic change: an increasing number of employees are leaving the labor market due to age, while fewer new workers are entering. This also shapes the behavior of jobseekers. For example, search queries for “career change into office and commercial jobs” on Stepstone.de increased by 107 percent year on year.
Julius Probst: “Career changes will become more central to the labor market than ever in the coming year. In 2026, Germany will for the first time see fewer people entering the labor market than leaving it. That is why skills are becoming more important than formal degrees. This creates real opportunities for many employees to make a professional fresh start.”
Trend 2: Job security is gaining importance for employees
Economic uncertainty and the situation on the labor market are leading many people to reassess their priorities. In 2025, job security reaches its highest level in years and is one of the most important criteria when choosing a new employer for 29 percent of applicants. This puts it clearly ahead of work life balance (25 percent), interesting tasks (16 percent) or learning and development opportunities (14 percent). Only fair pay (62 percent) and flexible work (34 percent) are mentioned more frequently.
Julius Probst: “The rising importance of job security is a clear signal. Employees are responding to uncertainty in the economic environment and are looking for reliable frameworks. For employers, this means that perspectives and predictability must not only be promised, but visibly anchored in structures, communication, and leadership. Companies that create clarity here will have an advantage in 2026.”
Trend 3: AI is here to stay. But people remain the decisive factor
Artificial intelligence is transforming many tasks and roles in everyday working life. Administrative and organizational activities are shaped by this development. Compared to the previous year, Stepstone records an increase of 174 percent in search queries for the position “AI manager,” for example.
At the same time, clear limits to automation are becoming apparent. In professions that rely heavily on interpersonal empathy, personal care, and direct interaction, demand remains consistently high. This applies, for instance, to roles in nursing, education or social care, which were among the most searched for positions on Stepstone.de in 2025.
Julius Probst: “AI will support many tasks, but it will not be able to replace all of them. This is especially true where empathy and human interaction are essential. The labor market is developing along two tracks: technological skills are gaining importance, while demand for personal and care related roles remains high. Companies should actively shape this development by enabling training in these areas. Many employees have a strong interest in developing AI skills but often encounter too few opportunities at their employers.”
About Dr. Julius Probst
Dr. Julius Probst is an economist at The Stepstone Group specializing in labor market analysis and macroeconomic developments. He holds a PhD in economic history and a master’s degree in economics from Lund University. His academic career has included positions at institutions such as the European Central Bank. Before joining The Stepstone Group, Julius spent three years at Macrobond Financial. He follows a data driven approach to better understand employment dynamics and economic change.
About the study
For the semi annual study “Hiring Trends Update,” Stepstone surveyed a total of 1,067 recruiters and 6,857 employees in Germany between September 10 and 22, 2025. The study examined perceptions, challenges, and priorities in recruiting, as well as assessments of skills, qualifications, and soft skills. The employee sample is representative of the German working population in terms of age, gender and education.
About the analysis
For the analysis of search trends on Stepstone.de, all search terms entered on the platform between January 1 and October 31, 2025 were evaluated and sorted by frequency.
About The Stepstone Group
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutionsconnect about 140 million job applications with about 130,000 employers every year. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 10 countries - including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs about 3,000 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com/english
Contact
The Stepstone Group Press
press@stepstone.com
Stepstone analysis: Career switching, job security and AI shape the labor market in 2026
- Recruiting priority: Two thirds of companies plan to actively hire career changers in 2026
- Job security becoming increasingly important for employees: Rated as important as it has not been for years
- AI roles are growing rapidly, while professions with personal human interaction remain indispensable
Julius Probst, labor market expert and economist at The Stepstone Group, explains which developments shaped 2025 and which trends will define the labor market in the coming year.
Trend 1: Career changes remain a priority – 2026 marks the first year with fewer new entrants to the labor market
Companies are clearly focusing more strongly on career changers. Sixty-four percent plan to actively hire people from other professional backgrounds in the coming year. Seventy-seven percent want to adjust their selection criteria and place greater emphasis on skills. Many companies are thus moving toward skills-based hiring, a recruiting approach in which practical abilities carry more weight than formal qualifications. This development is driven primarily by demographic change: an increasing number of employees are leaving the labor market due to age, while fewer new workers are entering. This also shapes the behavior of jobseekers. For example, search queries for “career change into office and commercial jobs” on Stepstone.de increased by 107 percent year on year.
Julius Probst: “Career changes will become more central to the labor market than ever in the coming year. In 2026, Germany will for the first time see fewer people entering the labor market than leaving it. That is why skills are becoming more important than formal degrees. This creates real opportunities for many employees to make a professional fresh start.”
Trend 2: Job security is gaining importance for employees
Economic uncertainty and the situation on the labor market are leading many people to reassess their priorities. In 2025, job security reaches its highest level in years and is one of the most important criteria when choosing a new employer for 29 percent of applicants. This puts it clearly ahead of work life balance (25 percent), interesting tasks (16 percent) or learning and development opportunities (14 percent). Only fair pay (62 percent) and flexible work (34 percent) are mentioned more frequently.
Julius Probst: “The rising importance of job security is a clear signal. Employees are responding to uncertainty in the economic environment and are looking for reliable frameworks. For employers, this means that perspectives and predictability must not only be promised, but visibly anchored in structures, communication, and leadership. Companies that create clarity here will have an advantage in 2026.”
Trend 3: AI is here to stay. But people remain the decisive factor
Artificial intelligence is transforming many tasks and roles in everyday working life. Administrative and organizational activities are shaped by this development. Compared to the previous year, Stepstone records an increase of 174 percent in search queries for the position “AI manager,” for example.
At the same time, clear limits to automation are becoming apparent. In professions that rely heavily on interpersonal empathy, personal care, and direct interaction, demand remains consistently high. This applies, for instance, to roles in nursing, education or social care, which were among the most searched for positions on Stepstone.de in 2025.
Julius Probst: “AI will support many tasks, but it will not be able to replace all of them. This is especially true where empathy and human interaction are essential. The labor market is developing along two tracks: technological skills are gaining importance, while demand for personal and care related roles remains high. Companies should actively shape this development by enabling training in these areas. Many employees have a strong interest in developing AI skills but often encounter too few opportunities at their employers.”
About Dr. Julius Probst
Dr. Julius Probst is an economist at The Stepstone Group specializing in labor market analysis and macroeconomic developments. He holds a PhD in economic history and a master’s degree in economics from Lund University. His academic career has included positions at institutions such as the European Central Bank. Before joining The Stepstone Group, Julius spent three years at Macrobond Financial. He follows a data driven approach to better understand employment dynamics and economic change.
About the study
For the semi annual study “Hiring Trends Update,” Stepstone surveyed a total of 1,067 recruiters and 6,857 employees in Germany between September 10 and 22, 2025. The study examined perceptions, challenges, and priorities in recruiting, as well as assessments of skills, qualifications, and soft skills. The employee sample is representative of the German working population in terms of age, gender and education.
About the analysis
For the analysis of search trends on Stepstone.de, all search terms entered on the platform between January 1 and October 31, 2025 were evaluated and sorted by frequency.
About The Stepstone Group
The Stepstone Group is a leading global digital recruitment platform that connects companies with the right talent and helps people find the right job. AI-driven job marketplaces and programmatic-powered marketing solutionsconnect about 140 million job applications with about 130,000 employers every year. The Stepstone Group operates in more than 10 countries - including Stepstone in Germany, Appcast in the USA and Totaljobs in the UK. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and employs about 3,000 people worldwide. For more information: www.thestepstonegroup.com/english
Contact
The Stepstone Group Press
press@stepstone.com
End of Media Release
Issuer: The Stepstone Group
Key word(s): Services
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| Language: | English |
| Company: | The Stepstone Group |
| Völklinger Straße 1 | |
| 40219 Düsseldorf | |
| Germany | |
| Internet: | https://www.thestepstonegroup.com/de/ |
| EQS News ID: | 2245966 |
| End of News | EQS Media |
2245966 16.12.2025 CET/CEST