More than three-quarters of U.S. small businesses are confident about hiring this year, yet a growing share say it has become harder to land the right people, according to a Robert Half survey of more than 250 U.S. small business leaders. One culprit stands out in the data: 54 percent say AI-generated applications have made hiring more difficult.
For solo operators and microbusiness owners who hire their first contractor or employee, that finding cuts two ways. The flood of machine-written resumes makes it harder to spot real talent, and the same tools are sharpening the competition that freelancers face when they pitch for work.
What The Survey Found
The poll covered companies with fewer than 100 employees and reported that 76 percent feel confident about their hiring outlook for the year ahead. At the same time, 47 percent said finding skilled talent is more difficult than it was a year ago, and only 12 percent said they currently have the talent needed to finish their high-priority projects.
Robert Half released the results on May 13, 2026, during National Small Business Month. The survey also found that the smallest firms account for the largest share of open roles across several professional fields, with legal at 66 percent, administrative and customer support at 64 percent, and marketing and creative at 63 percent.
Why This Matters For Self-Employed Owners
Those three categories, legal, administrative support, and marketing, are exactly the functions a one-person business outsources first. When small employers cannot fill those roles in-house, the work flows to independent contractors and freelancers, creating an opening for self-employed pros who can step in without lengthy onboarding.
The AI hiring problem is the flip side. If more than half of small employers are struggling to tell genuine candidates from bot-written ones, a freelancer who submits a generic, clearly machine-drafted proposal risks being filtered out before a human reads it. Specificity and proof of real work now matter more than polish.
What Self-Employed Readers Should Do Next
Lead with evidence a bot cannot fake. Reference the client’s actual project, link to relevant samples, and keep proposals short and concrete rather than leaning on AI to pad them out. The same scrutiny driving employers crazy is your chance to stand apart.
Position yourself for the outsourced overflow. If small firms in your area cannot hire marketing, admin, or specialized help, package a clear scope and rate for that work and reach out directly, rather than waiting for a job post. A tight labor market for employees is a referral pipeline for contractors, a pattern visible across recent labor market data.
What To Watch Next
Expect more hiring platforms to roll out AI-detection and verification features as employers push back against automated applications. That could reshape how freelancers present themselves on marketplaces, with verified portfolios and identity checks carrying more weight.
The talent gap is unlikely to close quickly. As long as small employers say they lack the people to finish priority work, demand for skilled independent help should stay firm, and self-employed pros who market themselves as low-friction specialists are positioned to capture it.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev: Unsplash
