Spokane staffing agencies are hopeful that hiring activity will strengthen in the months ahead, but the types of positions being filled may look different than a few years ago, as employers place a greater emphasis on skills, adaptability, and experience over traditional credentials such as college degrees.

While the Inland Northwest labor market has remained relatively steady, employers are continuing to face challenges finding workers with the specific technical and professional abilities needed to meet evolving business demands, says Christina Vigil Gross, market manager for the Spokane office of ManpowerGroup Inc., which does business as Manpower.

"We're cautiously optimistic," Vigil Gross says, noting that hiring activity has been somewhat slower in recent months but appears poised to improve. "We are only seeing 4% unemployment, so the market is healthy. Although the staffing agency isn't as busy as usual, I believe our activity will pick up."

Many employers are shifting toward a skills-based hiring approach, in which applicants are evaluated based on their demonstrated skills, ability to learn, and practical experience rather than a primary focus on an applicant's educational background, she says.

"It's really becoming skills before schools," says Vigil Gross. "Of course education is still important, but currently, employers are more interested in workers that already know certain skills or are adaptable enough to learn them through on-the-job training."

The shift reflects a broader transformation taking place across most industries as artificial intelligence, automation, and changing workforce demographics reshape employer expectations, says Vigil Gross, noting that Manpower specifically works to place workers in permanent positions through staffing clients.

Many organizations aren't struggling to find applicants; instead, they're struggling to find applicants with the precise skills required to keep critical projects moving, says Jennifer Koenig, vice president and branch director of the Spokane office of staffing agency Robert Half Inc.

"Even in a more cautious labor market, employers can still face very real skills gaps," Koenig says. "The challenge is often less about finding people and more about finding the specific skill sets."

Fifty-six percent of small businesses report significant skills gaps, while only 12% have the talent needed to support their company's highest-priority projects, Koenig says, citing a Robert Half report.

Those shortages are leading employers to rethink how they evaluate candidates.

Rather than relying solely on degrees or traditional career paths, businesses are increasingly examining technical expertise, certifications, portfolios, previous accomplishments, and transferable skills that demonstrate a candidate's ability to perform the work, Koenig explains.

That change has become particularly noticeable as technology continues to evolve, Vigil Gross adds.

Many positions now require stronger digital and technical capabilities than they did even just a few years ago, making practical knowledge increasingly valuable during the hiring process, she says.

The hiring shift here mirrors findings from the World Economic Forum's "Future of Jobs Report 2025," which concludes that technological change, demographic shifts, economic uncertainty, and the transition toward greener industries are fundamentally reshaping the global workforce. The report surveyed more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers worldwide.

Overall, employers expect 39% of the core skills required for existing jobs to change by 2030, according to the report. Skills gaps also ranked as the largest barrier to business transformation, cited by 63% of employers surveyed.

Demand is increasing for workers with expertise in AI, cybersecurity, software development, data analysis, and digital technologies. At the same time, employers say human capabilities remain just as important, according to the report.

Critical thinking, communication, adaptability, creativity, leadership, resilience, and relationship management rank among the most valuable workplace skills because they complement technology rather than compete with it, according to information from Robert Half.

"The strongest professionals are often those who can combine skills," Koenig says.

While technology is transforming many occupations, another challenge is unfolding: retirements. Retirements are accelerating across many industries as baby boomers leave the workforce, creating concerns that organizations could lose decades of institutional knowledge along with longtime employees.

An experienced worker often possesses years of operational knowledge, customer relationships, historical context, and practical judgment that cannot easily be replaced by a single new hire, Koenig says.

Robert Half's succession planning research has found that 53% of hiring managers worry about losing institutional knowledge when experienced leaders retire or leave their organizations, she says. Meanwhile, 49% report they don't have enough internal talent prepared to step into key leadership positions.

In many cases, replacing a longtime employee requires more than simply hiring someone into the same position. Organizations may redistribute responsibilities across multiple employees or recruit candidates with complementary skill sets to replace accumulated knowledge, Koenig explains.

Those realities are making succession planning increasingly important.

Businesses are placing a greater emphasis on documenting procedures, mentoring younger employees, and identifying future leaders before vacancies occur, rather than waiting until a retirement announcement is made, she says.

AI is reinforcing the importance of experienced employees in some workplaces. Among employers that have eliminated positions after implementing AI and later rehired for those same functions, 40% concluded they still needed the institutional knowledge and business context technology could not replace, Koenig says. Another 39% cited relationship management as a key reason for rehiring, and 38% determined they still required additional human oversight and quality control.

Those findings suggest technology is changing work rather than eliminating the need for experienced professionals.

"Experience can be an important complement to rapidly changing technology," Koenig says.

Experienced employees often contribute pattern recognition, sound judgment, mentoring abilities, and deep industry knowledge. Those capabilities become especially valuable when organizations adopt new technologies, because experienced professionals understand not only how to operate new tools, but also how those tools fit within existing business processes and customer relationships, Koenig says.

Employers throughout the Inland Northwest are increasingly recognizing that value, Vigil Gross contends. While companies are seeking workers with technical expertise, they're also looking for candidates who can communicate effectively, adapt to changing priorities, and solve problems independently, she says.

Those qualities often are developed through a combination of education, hands-on experience, and continuous learning rather than any single credential, she adds.

The changing hiring landscape also could create new opportunities for workers who build careers through apprenticeships, military service, community colleges, certifications, on-the-job training, or other nontraditional paths. For businesses, the challenge is identifying the skills that truly matter for long-term success, Koenig says.

For workers, their opportunity lies in continually developing both technical expertise and the human skills that technology cannot easily replace, says Vigil Gross.

As Spokane-area employment agencies prepare for an expected uptick in hiring activity, job seekers who successfully blend emerging technical skills with communication, judgment, adaptability, and real-world experience likely will find themselves in the strongest position to compete for tomorrow's jobs.