Experts Eye Increased Hiring in 2026, Expect More I-9 Enforcement, AI Assists Restaurants

Hey everybody, it's Gene Marks, and welcome to another episode of the Paychex Thrive Week in Review. This is where we take a few items of news in the week and we talk a little bit about them and how they impact your small business and mine.

The first report comes from a survey that was conducted by the recruitment and search firm Robert Half. They found that two-thirds of U.S. employers plan to increase hiring in the second half of 2026. They're signaling stronger hiring tensions for the remainder of the year, the survey says, which included more than 2,000 hiring managers.

About sixty-six percent plan to increase permanent hiring up from 60% in the first half of 2026, and 57% a year earlier. Another 56% expect to hire contract professionals to fulfill specific needs and keep key projects moving along.

However, employers continue to struggle with talent shortages, as we all are: 58% say finding qualified workers is harder than a year ago, while 63% report that project delays and 48% say they have canceled projects because of insufficient staffing – 48%, I'm goonna get back to that in a minute.

The hardest to find capabilities include industry-specific expertise, software proficiency, and leadership skills. Hiring demand is particularly strong in technology and healthcare, finance, and accounting. With Denver, Minneapolis, and San Francisco among the strongest markets, companies are increasingly combining permanent hires, contractors, staffing firms, and employee upskilling to address the shortages.

We didn't mention technology in here. I think that's gonna also address some of these shortages. You know, with all of the news that we've been hearing about AI replacing employees and putting workers out of work. Meanwhile, the labor market is extremely strong, unemployment is still at historical lows, and as indicated by this Robert Haff report, two-thirds of employers are going to be hiring more employees in the second half of 2026.

So, the competition will remain strong, labor shortages are gonna continue to prevail. What do we do other than trying to stay competitive with our compensation and benefits and providing the best workplaces that we can find.

Remember, when you're out looking for employees for your business, being a small business is a huge sell for a lot of people. Why? Because people working for large corporations oftentimes complain of lots of things, like you know, bureaucracy and their voice isn't being heard, they don't feel like they're making much of an impact, etc., etc. Whereas when you work for a small business, you don't have all of those things. You really can make an impact. You will have to wear many hats. There are a lot of advantages to doing that and a lot more flexibility, too.

So, just so you know, you know, in this time right now of all these employers looking to hire more people and a very soft labor market that we're – sorry, a strong labor market – that we're in right now, employers should know that small businesses play up the small business card. It is absolutely a selling point and something that you should be considering.

Okay, so a quick pause here. You know, running a business is very challenging, especially when laws and regulations are keep changing on you. So, that's why Paychex is here. They help keep your business up to date and compliant so you can avoid headaches and focus on growth. If you'd like to learn more about all the ways that Paychex can help your business in the area of HR and payroll, you can check it out for yourself at paychex.com/meetpaychex. That's P-A-Y-C-H-E-X.com forward slash M-E-E-T-P-A-Y-C-H-E-X. You can also find the link in the show notes.

Okay, let's move to our next story. It has to do with immigration. I want you to be very prepared for this. This was an article, a recent article that came out this week by the law firm Morgan Lewis. They are warning U.S. employers that they need to prepare now for increased Form I-9 enforcement.

Here's the story: Employers should prepare for potentially significant increased federal Form I-9 inspections and workplace immigration enforcement, according to Morgan Lewis. Recent comments from White House Border Czar Tom Homan indicate the administration is considering expanding workplace enforcement and processing larger volumes of I-9 inspections, although no new formal ICE program has yet been announced.

Employers typically receive only three business days after an ICE notice of inspection to produce their I-9 records. Compounding the risk, ICE guidance issued in March of 2026 reclassified many paperwork errors previously considered technical violations as substantive violations, limiting employers' ability to correct the problems after an inspection begins.

You know, civil penalties for these violations, they start at almost $3,000 per form or worker. Morgan Lewis recommends:

• Conducting counsel-directed internal I-9 audits now
• Correcting deficiencies before receiving an inspection notice
• Reconciling I-9 records with payroll and HR records
• Reviewing electronic systems and labor providers
• Training your employees and establishing procedures capable of producing records within three business days.

Man, I cannot support this enough. I've been talking about this now going on two years. The immigration – the ICE – is, you know, where they've been getting a lot of media for the stuff they've been doing at various cities around you know the country, but they are really starting to refocus on businesses and go after those businesses that are hiring potentially undocumented workers.

You have got to make sure that you have an I-9 for every single one of your workers. You want to make sure that it's been updated in the past year. It's got to be something current. Document it, print it out, have a paper copy of it – it's the government, you know – and get prepared because if ICE visits your company, you want to immediately give to them the whole folder of all the completed and signed off I-9s that they can look at quickly, and then be on their way.

Trust me when I tell you, there are so many companies out there that are not ready for this, they're not in compliance. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit for ICE to go after. You don't want to be that. So, make sure that you're on top of your game now. Make sure those I-9 forms are done. Be ready if an ice inspector shows up at your door so you can give them the documentation they need and they can just be on their way. That's the way to make sure that you are got your ducks in order for potential ICE investigations.

And I'm telling you, they are going to be coming. They are ramping up their efforts.

Okay, in this week's AI news, let's talk about Yelp. They have a phone assistant, and it just got a lot more useful for small restaurants. This comes from a site called the Useful Daily. Yelp is expanding its Yelp Host AI phone assistant, which now has handled more than a million calls for restaurants.

The service can answer routine customer calls around the clock, and new open table integration allows it to automatically book and modify and cancel reservations while updating open table in real time. Yelp is also adding phone-based food ordering aimed at fast, casual, and other restaurants with relatively straightforward menus.

Yelp says that Host's call volume has grown an average of 38% month-over-month since its launch for small restaurants. The technology could reduce the burden of answering reservation inquiries, questions about wait times, spam calls, and routine food orders, allowing employees to concentrate on customers in the restaurant.

The article argues that Yelp Host illustrates for small business AI is gaining practical traction, automating repetitive tasks directly tied to revenue, rather than deploying AI simply for experimentation. Effective experimentation still requires accurate memos, menus, and well-defined procedures, and clear escalation to human employees.

Yeah, I've written about this in Forbes as well. I highlighted a platform called Slang.ai. There are a number of virtual and AI telephone assistants that are out there now. They're becoming more and more popular, and I am telling you, real life, I have a number of clients that are using AI phone systems so that when somebody calls, a bot answers the phone and helps them with routine questions.

Of course, people don't like to talk to bots all the time. So, you want to make sure that you are given the caller the option to talk to a human if they want to. But for the most part, if the question is easy, if it's a simple reservation or directions or a simple question about a menu item, why not just let a bot answer the question so that the caller can get the answer and move on?

And the more that an automated assistant is doing, the less that your employees have to do by wasting time answering the phone. It makes complete sense. The restaurants that I interviewed for my Forbes article about Slang.ai, nobody was laying off employees. They can't find enough good people. These, you know, AI-based technologies are helping businesses get more work done with their existing employees. And it's a real-life use. They actually work these AI-assisted telephone systems, and it's something that I think your business should look into. Surely, if you're a restaurant, you should absolutely take a closer look at Yelp's Host AI phone assistant, as well as some of the competitors that are out there.

My name is Gene Marks, and you have been watching or listening to this week's episode of the Paychex Thrive Week in Review. A couple of things: Please follow us and like us or subscribe to us on YouTube and your favorite podcast channel. In addition, if you'd like help or advice in running your business, get our Paychex Thrive newsletter. Go to paychex.com/thrive.

And finally, If you are looking for helping your business with your HR and payroll needs, consider Paychex. Go to paychex.com/meetpaychex.

Again, my name is Gene Marks. Thanks for joining us this week. We'll see you again next week with some more stories in the news that impact your small business, and I'll have a few comments on those stories for you. Thanks for watching and listening. We'll see you again soon. Take care.

My name is Gene Marks, and you've been watching or listening to the Paychex Thrive Week in Review podcast. A few things to take away. First of all, if you are in need of HR or payroll help in your business, consider Paychex. Go to paychex.com/meetpaychex. That's P-A-Y-C-H-E-X.com forward slash M-E-E-T-P-A-Y-C-H-E-X. Please follow this podcast on your podcast platform or on YouTube if you are enjoying the content so you stay up to date on our latest episodes.

And if you need help or advice or tips in running your business, get our Paychex Thrive newsletter. Go to paychex.com/thrive and sign up for it there.

Hope you found this information helpful. I'll be back with you next week with more news that impacts your small business and mine. My name is Gene Marks. Thanks so much for watching or listening. Take care.

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