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Friday’s employment report showed little change: payrolls rose by 29,000 and unemployment was 4.2%. That gives you some context for a hiring conversation. You still have to look at what is happening inside your own business.
The visible decision is often easier to discuss because it sounds operational. Do we hire someone? Can we afford the position? Should we wait another month? Those are reasonable questions. They can also leave the underlying issue untouched.
Before you add a person, look at the work that person would receive. Is the responsibility clear? Would they have the information and authority to do it, or would every decision still come back to you? If the work is already being delayed or repeated, it helps to understand why before building another role around it.
The same applies to waiting. There may be a sound cash-flow reason to postpone a hire. There may also be a conversation about trust, ownership, or disappointing someone that has been folded into the budget discussion. Those require different answers.
Start with the last 90 days. Look at demand, the work your team has actually delivered, and the work that keeps getting stuck. Then name what would have to change for the decision to make sense. A national report can inform that review; the evidence inside your business gives you something specific to act on.
If you are preparing a decision, change, or difficult message for a team, I made a Leadership Communication Checklist for the practical questions: what is changing, what is not, who owns the next move, when it starts, and how you will know people understood it.
Bring the decision you are working through to The Advisory’s Business Room. What information would help you make the next move?
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2026 Employment Situation, released October 2.
A $70k salary rarely costs $70k. Local taxes, benefits, and compliance can change the math. Oyster's free calculator helps estimate what a global hire may really cost. Try the calculator.
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