Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
September Surge May Give Way to October Pullback, Jobs Experts Warn
The “September surge” in US hiring arrived in 2026, but jobs experts are urging caution. Career coach Amanda Augustine said companies are selectively filling specific roles rather than broadly expanding payrolls. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to 3.75–4 percent on September 16, increasing borrowing costs and prompting businesses to grow more cautious. Employers historically pause hiring before elections, adding another headwind. Last October, companies announced 153,074 job cuts — the highest total for that month since 2003 and a 183 percent jump from September 2025. Analysts say the surge may give way to a pullback in October if rate pressure continues.
Private Sector Hiring Accelerates for Third Straight Week
US private sector hiring accelerated for a third consecutive week, with the most recent ADP NER Pulse data showing an average of 20,000 new jobs per week in the four weeks ended September 5. That compares to 16,750 jobs per week in the prior four-week period ended August 29, and 12,250 in the four weeks ended August 22 — representing a near-doubling of weekly hiring pace over six weeks. All figures are seasonally adjusted and carry a two-week reporting lag. The ADP NER Pulse tracks private-sector employment across the United States and is published weekly by payroll processor ADP.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts
AI Adoption Is Driving Hiring, Though Mostly for Senior Roles
Companies adopting artificial intelligence are creating more jobs overall, but gains are concentrated among senior workers, a joint Stanford University and King’s College London study found. Researchers analyzed 1.25 billion job postings and 154 million employment records across 41 countries from January 2021 through March 2026. At AI-adopting companies, senior employment rose 6.7 percent over five years while junior employment fell 3 percent, and the share of junior workers declined 1.9 percentage points. In computer and mathematics roles, AI companies shifted 0.8 percentage points toward senior staff. Workers aged 22 to 25 in AI-exposed jobs sat 19 percent below their expected employment trajectory compared to peers in non-exposed positions.
Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts
Joveo Unveils First Agentic Recruiting Platform at RecFest 2026
Joveo, an AI recruiting platform company, will introduce what it describes as the first agentic recruiting platform to connect the full hiring funnel at RecFest USA 2026. The platform links talent attraction, candidate sourcing, engagement, screening, scheduling, interviewing, and analytics in a single system that integrates with existing applicant tracking systems. Recruiting teams set outcome goals while AI agents handle execution, with recruiters retaining authority over human-judgment decisions. Chief Technology Officer Prateek Mishra said the aim is to point recruiting teams at outcomes rather than at individual process steps. Joveo describes itself as a global leader in AI-powered recruitment technology serving clients worldwide.
Sources: GlobeNewswire
Spott Secures $21M Series A to Expand AI Platform for Recruitment Agencies
Spott, a Belgian AI-native applicant tracking and CRM platform for recruitment agencies, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Balderton Capital led the round, with participation from Base10 Partners, Y Combinator, and Fortino Capital. Founded in Leuven in 2024 by Lander Degrève, Manu Vanderveeren, and Samuel Smeys, the company emerged from the founders’ consulting work with recruitment businesses at McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Spott unifies candidate management, sourcing, outreach, and automation in a single platform, capable of indexing databases of up to two million candidates. New funding supports expansion into Sydney and New York and development of enterprise and agentic AI capabilities.
HR Tech 2026 Announces 33 Contestants for Industry’s Most Popular Startup Competition
HR Tech 2026 has announced 33 contestants for Pitchfest, the conference’s flagship startup competition, selected from more than 80 applicants. The 33 companies are divided equally across three categories: Talent Acquisition, Core HR and HCM, and Post-hire Talent Management, with 11 companies per category. The competition is led by George LaRocque, founder and Principal Analyst of WorkTech. Total prize money increased to $40,000 from $30,000 last year; the first-place winner also receives an exhibit package to present at HR Tech 2027. The conference takes place October 20 through 22 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sources: GlobeNewswire
Xanadu Appoints Tara Deakin as Chief People Officer to Lead Global Growth
Xanadu Quantum Technologies (Nasdaq/TSX: XNDU), a Canadian photonic quantum computing company, appointed Tara Deakin as Chief People Officer on September 22 to lead the next phase of the company’s global growth. Deakin previously served as Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President at Spin Master, where she had global responsibility for people strategy, corporate communications, real estate, and workplace experience. Her earlier career spanned executive roles at TD Bank Group, Citi, and Rogers Communications. She also serves as an independent director and Chair of the Human Resources Committee of goeasy Ltd. Current CPO Rebecca Laramée transitions to Senior Vice President of Human Resources and remains with the company.
Sources: GlobeNewswire
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