Traditional Talent Isn't Working. You Are.
Layoffs are up 83%, staffing is shrinking, and specialized talent is booming. What the splitting talent market means for solutions this week.
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Here's what I'm watching this week:
- Over 1 in 3 skilled U.S. knowledge workers now freelance, up from 1 in 4 a year ago, and AI-integrated work carries a 34% pay premium.1
- SIA says contingent-workforce leaders are evolving from program managers into workforce orchestrators, stitching MSPs, EORs, direct sourcing, and AI platforms into one strategy.2
- Tech layoffs are up 83% year over year, yet the traditional staffing side is contracting to match: permanent placement fees just fell 5% at one of the largest global firms.3,4
Access All Of Today's Top Stories >>
Here's what I think this means for the industry:
1. Companies keep screaming that traditional talent channels aren't working. Whether their current full time workforce, their traditional contingent partners.
The data speaks for itself. The layoffs are the obvious part.3 The deeper tell is that traditional staffing isn't growing to catch what's falling: permanent placement fees just dropped 5% at one of the largest global firms,4 and contingent workforce growth has collapsed from 3.7% to 0.5% a year.7
Yet YOU are working. The CAGR for talent platforms continues to be over 17%.5 The rise in intentional independent workers keeps growing.1 And our search traffic keeps growing.
2. Your value is clear - specialized, flexible talent
We're seeing the tagline "the speed that staffing can't match with the price point agencies can't afford" work really well.
Let that sink in. Staffing takes too long. Agencies cost too much. But both are trying to quickly catch up.
Word of caution from last month's community call though...it's not the talent that matters, it's the process, the service layer, and the specialized expertise that differentiate you from staffing firms and agencies. Check out the recording >>
3. You give companies control
AI is pushing companies to want more control over their tech and their talent. Starbucks is replacing Microsoft and IBM with internal made software.6
This is a HUGE opening for you. The obvious implication is that you have the specialized talent. The deeper differentiation is that you enable them to go direct without the fixed cost burden of being full time.
Here's how Human Cloud is helping: Check out your new dashboard!
You'll see the exact 3 steps you should take RIGHT NOW. Not tomorrow. Not next week.
Alright leaders, have one hell of a week,
- Matt
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Matthew Mottola CEO of Human Cloud. 4x entrepreneur, angel investor, author of The Human Cloud (w/ HarperCollins), advising companies like Microsoft, Deloitte, and G7 governments on how to use flexible talent. Meet with me » |
PS - this Thursday, July 23 at 12pm ET, I'm running a member-only live session on How to Win & Grow Through RFPs. We'll open the hood on why companies are coming to us for RFPs, what types of companies use RFPs, and how to position yourself to win them.
If you're not a member, apply here >>
Featured Event
HC Community Call - July 2026
Thursday, July 30 · 12:00 PM ET · Virtual
This month's call digs into the M&A wave, EU classification directives, and the new Human Cloud certification program. Bring questions.
Featuring
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Shoutouts!
Wins from across the community over the last two weeks. Keep them coming.
Customers Verified
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Three customers were verified for Keen, a leading US talent platform helping companies grow through South African talent. |
Business Cases
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Fractional talent platform Malloy Industries helped a healthcare-diagnostics startup raise a $3.2M seed round and launch 8 clinical trial sites. |
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Global payroll and EOR platform Papaya Global helped South Pole save 600+ hours weekly and €417K a year. |
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Global HR and payroll platform Deel helped Taktile grow 5x, from 12 to 60 employees across 3+ markets. |
Add yours with the Business Case Agent >>
Kudos
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On-demand marketing talent marketplace Wripple earned kudos from Angie Benamati, VP Marketing at Stanley Black & Decker: "the collaboration was seamless, and the creative work exceeded expectations." |
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AI-powered compliance platform Independently received kudos from Carrie McDowell at Lyft. |
Industry Insights
The deals, earnings, product launches, and events moving the industries our solutions serve.
Deals & M&A
AI Talent · M&A
Mercor acquires Deeptune, eyes $20B valuation on $2B ARR
The AI-training-data unicorn snapped up a16z-backed Deeptune as it approaches a $20B valuation. Workforce platforms are becoming core AI infrastructure - the talent layer and the AI layer are merging, and the specialists are the ones getting bought.
Earnings
Staffing · UK
Hays net fees fall 5%, profit held together by cost cuts
The global staffing giant delivered profit at the top of guidance only by stripping £50M in annual costs while permanent-placement fees kept falling. The clearest read yet that the traditional staffing model is under structural pressure, not a passing dip.
Product Launches
HR Tech · Launch
Humanforce launches AI-native HR Analytics and automated Learning
HR teams can now query workforce data in plain language and auto-assign compliance training as roles change. AI-first workforce intelligence is fast becoming table stakes, even for frontline employers - a bar every solution's product story now gets measured against.
Industry Events
Here's where the industry is gathering this fall, and where you'll find us. See the full calendar for dates, locations, and who should go.
See the full events calendar »
Sources
- Upwork Future Workforce Index 2026 (GlobeNewswire, Jul 14)
- SIA CWS 3.0: From Program Manager to Workforce Orchestrator (SIA, Jul 15)
- Tech layoffs up 83% YoY in H1 2026 (HR Dive / Challenger, Jul 9)
- Hays Q4: net fees fall 5% (Yahoo Finance, Jul 10)
- Freelance Platforms Market: 17.18% CAGR 2025-2032 (SNS Insider)
- Starbucks builds in-house AI to replace $400M in software (LA Times, Jul 9)
- Contingent workforce growth slowed from 3.7% to 0.5% a year (SIA)
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