After 2025’s staggering 1.2 million U.S. job cuts, many market research and insights teams are entering 2026 with fewer hands-on-deck. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, that’s the highest layoff count since 2020, often fueled by AI adoption, restructuring, and cost issues.
Even while industry leaders like Ipsos and Kantar avoided headline-making cuts, other parts of the insights ecosystem felt the squeeze. Dynata’s 2024 bankruptcy restructuring, and insights teams at many large brands saw cuts. General consulting firms suffered as well—perhaps most notably, PwC cut hundreds from research and analytics units.
Elastic Staffing for Research & Insights Teams
With hiring freezes common and workloads holding steady, more leaders are turning to flexible staffing models. Contractors can be onboarded quickly to tackle specific projects end-to-end, or to fill in for specific tasks (survey design, qual moderation, or reporting being common requests). These aren’t full-time commitments; they’re tied to project budgets, not payroll.
Need Help Fast? Rent-a-Researcher Can Help
Through our Rent-a-Researcher service, we offer access to 150+ U.S.-based qualitative and quantitative researchers—all screened to verify areas of expertise.
Currently available researchers include:
25+ questionnaire programmers with deep experience in Alchemer and Qualtrics
20+ IDI interviewers and moderators for B2B and consumer audiences
10+ qualitative report writers who can turn your transcripts into client-ready deliverables
15+ survey research reporters who translate data into clear key findings and recommendations
10+ secondary researchers who support our clients with competitive and market landscape analysis
Whether you need help for a week or a month, we can match you with the right pro—and fast.
Scaling Without Adding Overhead
In volatile environments, fixed costs become liabilities. Contractors let teams ramp up capacity without long-term commitments. This keeps overhead low and agility high, which is especially useful when timelines shift or project demands spike unexpectedly.
Industry outlooks for US businesses hiring trends highlight that contract and contingent staffing are expected to keep growing. Research from Indeed found that 65% of organizations plan to increase the use of freelancers (whether through direct or agency options) in 2026.
Preparing for 2026
2026 won’t be easy—but it’s not impossible.
We’re seeing teams adapt by bringing in experienced specialists when needed, and in some cases, building regular “on-call” teams they can access as needed. From survey programming to qual reporting to full project execution, short-term experts are helping preserve quality, meet deadlines, and prevent team burnout.
To learn more about research staffing options, please visit our list of available skills and FAQ.
