Retention Becomes the Real Battleground: Q4 2025 Employment Benchmark Report
Introduction: The Shift from Hiring to Holding
Across North American manufacturing, one theme stands out this quarter: retention has become the real battleground. Turnover has eased, but employers are now focused on retaining their skilled talent while upgrading teams where it matters most.
The food & beverage manufacturing, packaging, plastics, and life sciences sectors are experiencing this pivot. Fewer layoffs, steady hiring in technical roles, and a renewed emphasis on stability and predictability are shaping the landscape.
“Retention has become the real battleground. Turnover has eased, but employers are now focused on holding on to skilled talent while carefully upgrading teams where it matters most.”
— Steve Brennan, CEO, Top Quality Recruitment
Market Snapshot: A Cooling but Balanced Labor Landscape
The U.S. unemployment rate held at 4.3% in August 2025, reflecting a stable but cooling labor market. While job creation slowed compared to 2024, broad layoffs have not materialized. Instead, companies are optimizing, keeping trained workers, and selectively hiring to strengthen automation, efficiency, and compliance.
Layoffs and discharge rate: 1.1%, near historic lows
Manufacturing productivity: up 2.5% in Q2
Unit labor costs: up 2.0%, signaling employers’ focus on output, not expansion
Sector Highlights
Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Employment is steady overall, with selective hiring tied to throughput, food safety, and uptime. The pressure has shifted from adding headcount to retaining trained operators and technicians who can reliably operate automated lines and pass audits.
Employment across food and beverage manufacturing remains stable heading into Q4. Hiring is selective but consistent, with employers prioritizing maintenance, quality, and production continuity over expansion.
Plants are prioritizing preventive maintenance, food safety, and throughput efficiency, aiming to protect margins as ingredient costs and regulatory pressure remain high.
Retention continues to outweigh recruitment, especially on off-shifts and in compliance-heavy facilities.
Trending Roles (Q3 2025) Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Maintenance roles remain the top hiring category, driven by off-shift demand and preventive maintenance priorities across dairy, beverage, and ready-to-eat plants.
Quality Assurance positions held steady, especially in FSMA and HACCP environments, reflecting compliance-driven staffing rather than new capacity.
Production and Sales hiring both strengthened in Q3, accounting for roughly one-third of all new job orders, though most activity remains backfill rather than expansion.
Sanitation and Warehouse openings declined slightly, signaling short-term stabilization after elevated turnover earlier in the year.
Engineering roles softened quarter-over-quarter as capital projects paused or slowed under tighter budgets.
What’s Driving the Market
Employers are focusing on predictable scheduling and upskilling to reduce turnover on second and third shifts.
FSMA and GFSI compliance continues to shape hiring and retention, with QA teams carrying more responsibility for audit readiness.
Automation and reliability engineering are gaining strategic importance, even as new capital spending slows.
Sales and account management hiring reflects stable consumer demand, particularly in branded ready-to-eat and beverage categories.
“Food and beverage hiring is no longer about adding people for growth. It’s about keeping and upskilling the trained teams who keep lines running and shelves stocked.” — TQR Perspective
Packaging and Plastics Manufacturing
The packaging and plastics industries are finding equilibrium after a soft first half. Plants are hiring again, but doing so strategically to strengthen reliability, quality, and sustainability.
Employers are moving from cost control to capability, adding people where it improves output and efficiency. Maintenance and process reliability roles remain in high demand, while sustainability efforts are shifting from R&D to production. Automation-trained technicians continue to be retained at premium rates.
Trending Roles (Q3 2025) Packaging & Plastics
Production roles continue to lead all job activity. Most are backfills for Operators, Line Leads, and Supervisors. Volume remains steady, with hiring driven by reliability, attendance, and shift coverage rather than expansion.
Sales and Account Management positions remain active, focused on maintaining relationships with key packaging and converting customers. Most hiring is turnover-driven but reflects solid demand across territory management and customer growth functions.
Maintenance Technicians remain in high demand for second and third shifts, especially in plants with flexographic presses, blown film, or converting equipment. Preventive and predictive maintenance skills continue to command premium pay.
Quality Assurance roles held steady as companies maintain focus on sustainability, product consistency, and compliance. Hiring is centered on professionals experienced in ISO standards, regulatory audits, and traceability systems.
Customer Service positions show moderate hiring as packaging firms strengthen order accuracy and reliability. Employers are prioritizing candidates who can coordinate effectively between production teams and clients to maintain service-level expectations.
Life Sciences & Medical Devices
Employment in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing remained stable, with hiring centered on:
Quality and process optimization
Automation and cleanroom maintenance
Technical sales and validation roles
R&D is showing renewed life as formulation and process-improvement projects return. The focus now is on steady, selective growth, rather than expansion at all costs.
Trending Roles (Q3 2025) Life Sciences & Medical Devices
Maintenance roles continue to lead hiring, driven by strong demand for automation, calibration, and cleanroom systems expertise. Employers are prioritizing candidates who can manage preventive maintenance and ensure uptime in validated environments.
Operations roles remain steady, with consistent demand for professionals experienced in GMP documentation, process optimization, and production scheduling. Hiring focuses on efficiency and regulatory compliance rather than expansion.
Production positions are primarily backfills across solid dose, sterile fill, and assembly lines. Employers are maintaining stable headcounts, adding only where output or capacity improvements are required.
R&D roles show a mild rebound as formulation, process-improvement, and scale-up projects resume. This reflects cautious optimism as companies reinvest in innovation and technical development.
Sales positions are active in technical and territory account management. Companies are seeking candidates who can leverage scientific expertise to drive value-based client partnerships and support revenue growth in competitive markets.
“Life Sciences hiring is calm and confident. Companies are no longer pulling back. They’re fine-tuning.” — TQR Perspective
Why Retention Matters More Than Ever
Predictable schedules that respect work-life balance
Clear advancement paths and visible leadership communication
Cross-training programs that show career growth
Managers who coach and develop their teams
Bottom Line
The Q4 2025 labor market is steady but selective. Employers are no longer competing for resumes; they’re competing for loyalty.
Companies that offer predictability, respect, and growth are holding their teams together. Those who delay adaptation risk losing trained people just when efficiency and output matter most.
Download the Full Q4 2025 Employment Benchmark Report
Want the complete data behind these insights? Download the TQR Employment Benchmark Report (Q4 2025) for deeper analysis on retention, hiring trends, and role movement across Packaging, Life Sciences, and Food & Beverage Manufacturing.
Inside the full report, you’ll find:
Month-by-month job movement data from U.S. manufacturing sectors
Top 10 roles by hiring demand and skill tier
Labor market insights from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, translated for employers
Compensation patterns, salary benchmarks, and retention strategies
Need Help Retaining Your Top Talent?
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