If you were laid off, you could ‘boomerang’ back to your old company. Here’s who’s more likely to be asked back.

• People analytics firm Visier analyzed who is more likely to be rehired within 15 months of being laid off.
• Managers and workers in the finance and retail industries were more likely to be called back.
• Andrea Derler, principal researcher, expects the rate to rise as companies deal with AI and uncertainty.

Sometimes a layoff isn't a farewell forever.

Rehires of people who were laid off could become more popular in a shaky job market. Visier, a people analytics firm, looked at how many people were rehired at their previous employers within 15 months of being terminated. Visier found about 5.3% of laid-off employees were rehired, based on global data from 2018 to 2024 covering 142 large organizations with over 2 million employee records.

Andrea Derler, principal researcher at Visier, expects boomerang hires of people who were previously laid off to increase as companies figure out how to handle "AI-induced pressures" and economic uncertainty.

"In times of extreme turmoil, where workforce planning is made even more difficult due to rapid, unexpected, and unpredictable changes, layoff boomerangs seem to be more prevalent," Derler said.

Separately, ADP Research found that the share of new hires who were boomerang employees increased from 26% in March 2022 to 35% this past March. "In an era where the outlook on the jobs market is fuzzy or uncertain, it makes sense for both employers and employees to stick with what they know," Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, previously told Business Insider.

The US is in a mostly frozen job market marked by low layoffs, but also low hiring. Job growth slowed from a monthly average of 111,000 between January and March to about 62,000 between July and September.

Layoffs in the US are low, but announcements are adding up. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that there have been over 1 million job cuts announced from US-based employers this year as of October. Verizon, Amazon, government agencies, and others have made headlines for their decisions.

Managers and people in finance and retail are more likely to rejoin their companies

Derler said Visier's data doesn't show a surge in manager layoffs, but they are also more likely to be rehired. "Organizations realize that it's really hard to find a good manager because the manager is responsible for a lot of things: performance, productivity, but also engagement of other employees," she said.

Among the handful of industries Visier looked at, finance and retail had the highest rates of laid-off employees that were rehired at 7.5% each. Derler said retail has a lot of turnover, so it makes sense that workers may go back and forth. She suspects the rate for the finance industry is because the work duties involve certain skills and expertise. Instead of tapping into a new talent pool, businesses may turn to people previously on their payroll and who have already demonstrated their capabilities.

Meanwhile, Derler said tech's rate of 4.3%, below the average rate and the lowest among the five industries looked at, could be because desired skills and knowledge quickly evolve. So, unlike finance, firms may want to look at a new talent pool.

"Prompt engineers a year ago was the big job — nobody talks about prompt engineering anymore," Derler said. "Skills are changing so fast, so that's why I can assume that they'll be looking for new people with new skills rather than those who they know."

Before being laid off, network and develop your skills

Derler said all parties need to have good "layoff hygiene," where both sides are respectful. She said workers should also try not to internalize their layoff or think it's something they did wrong.

She also emphasized the importance of always keeping up your skills, so that if you are laid off, you can confidently add your knowledge to your résumé or talk about it in an interview.

Derler also suggested staying connected with people you worked well with in case you do rejoin — not just so it's pleasant to return, but because they might know about an opening.

Derler said she interviewed some boomerangs and found some were still in touch with their old boss. "When their manager then realized they actually needed somebody again, they would be the first that they would call," she said. "Makes sense, right? Because you know the person, you get on well with them."

Have you gone back to your previous job? Are you a hiring manager who has made boomerang hires? Reach out to this reporter at mhoff@businessinsider.com.