Global Hiring Plans for Q1 2025 Hold Steady as Employers Maintain Measured Outlook

The Net Employment Outlook for first quarter of 2025 remains unchanged from Q4 2024, but down from the previous year, consistent with cooling labor markets

• Regional hiring intentions remain stable with the Americas (29%) reporting the strongest Outlook, followed by Asia Pacific (27%), and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (19%).
• The IT sector maintains its position as the strongest hiring sector at 37%, followed by Financials & Real Estate at 33%, and Healthcare & Life Sciences at 27%.
• Larger organizations continue to drive hiring, with companies of 250-999 employees reporting the highest Outlook at 31%.

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Global hiring intentions have stabilized heading into the first quarter of 2025, with employers reporting a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 25%, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. The Survey, which gathered data from over 40,000 employers across 42 countries between October 1-31, 2024, shows the Outlook remaining unchanged from the previous quarter while showing a modest decrease of one percentage point year-over-year.

"As we move into 2025, we're seeing stable year-over-year hiring trends with employers holding onto the talent they have and planning muted hiring for the quarter ahead" said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chair & CEO. "The fluctuations we have seen in recent quarters are beginning to stabilize - indicating employers have adapted to ongoing economic uncertainty and are maintaining steady workforce planning. The sustained strength in the IT sector and consistent hiring intentions among larger organizations point to stability too – and we hope to see this trend continue into 2025. Employers know a skilled and adaptable workforce is key to navigating transformation, and many are prioritizing hiring and retaining people with in-demand, flexible skills that can flex to where demand sits."

Used internationally as a bellwether of labor market trends, the NEO is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions in staffing levels from those who plan to hire.

Q4 KEY FINDINGS

• Global hiring Outlooks remain unchanged at 25% quarter-over-quarter, with a slight decline of -1% year-over-year.
• The strongest hiring plans are reported in India (40%), U.S. (34%), and Mexico (32%), while the weakest Outlooks are in Argentina (-1%), Hong Kong (6%), and Israel (8%).
• Employers in the IT (37%), Financials & Real Estate (33%), and Healthcare & Life Sciences (27%) sectors report the strongest hiring intentions.
• Organizations of 250-999 employees continue to lead hiring intentions with an Outlook of 31%, followed at 29% by those with 1,000 - 4,999 employees.

GLOBAL HIRING PLANS BY REGION

The Americas: Employers across North, Central, and South America reported the strongest regional Outlook for Q1 (29%), with hiring intentions improving 1 percentage point sequentially but declining -3 percentage points from the same period last year.

• Employers in the U.S. (34%) and Mexico (32%) show the strongest hiring prospects, while Argentina reports the region's only negative Outlook (-1%), reflecting continued economic challenges.
• The U.S. IT sector leads global industry forecasts at 53%.

Asia Pacific (APAC): Hiring managers across the region anticipate the second strongest regional Outlook (27%), remaining unchanged from the previous quarter, but decreased by 3 percentage points when compared to the same time last year.

• India maintains its position as the global hiring leader at 40%.
• Singapore leads the Transport, Logistics & Automotive sector globally with a 67% Outlook, highlighting the region's continued strength in supply chain and logistics.

Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): Hiring expectations remain the lowest in EMEA (19%) and have weakened by 2 percentage points since Q4 2024 and by 1 percentage point year-over-year.

• Belgium reports the strongest Outlook for Financials & Real Estate in EMEA (53%) and leads in Energy & Utilities (44%), while the Netherlands shows robust hiring plans in Consumer Goods & Services (47%).
• The most competitive sector in Spain is Information Technology, with a NEO of 27: a 6-point increase from last quarter, reflecting investments in the sector and technical education.

To view the complete results for the Q1 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, including regional and country data, visit: go.manpowergroup.com/meos. The next survey will be released in March 2025 and will report hiring expectations for the second quarter of the year.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind, used globally as a key labor market indicator. The Net Employment Outlook (NEO) is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The methodology used to collect the data for the Employment Outlook has been digitized in 42 markets for the Q1 2025 report. Survey responses were collected from October 1-31, 2024. The question asked and the respondent profile remains unchanged. Size of organization and sector are standardized across all countries and territories to allow international comparisons.

*Note: Chile joined the program in Q2 2024. There is currently no historical data, and the data has not been seasonally adjusted.

ABOUT MANPOWERGROUP

ManpowerGroup^® (NYSE:MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing, and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower, Experis, and Talent Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across more than 70 countries and territories and has done so for more than 75 years. We are recognized consistently for our diversity – as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality, and Disability, and in 2024 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 15th time – all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.

For more information, visit www.manpowergroup.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding labor demand in certain regions, countries and industries, economic uncertainty and workforce trends, including, trends related to gender equality and advancing pay equities. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, due to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These factors include those found in the Company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the information under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, whose information is incorporated herein by reference. ManpowerGroup disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements in this release, except as required by law.

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SOURCE ManpowerGroup