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Employers Across APME Signal Intentional Growth as Hiring Outlook Improves to +31% for Q1 2026: Latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
Hiring optimism across Asia Pacific and the Middle East (APME) is improving, with employers reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of +31% for Q1 2026—up three points from Q4 2025 and seven points higher than Q1 2025.
About this update from Manpowergroup
[{"type":"list","items":[{"val":[{"type":"text","content":"The Net Employment Outlook (NEO) for Q1 2026 in Asia Pacific and the Middle East (APME) stands at +31%.","length":103,"tagName":"p"}]},{"val":[{"type":"text","content":"With an NEO of +38%, the Information sector and Finance & Insurance sector leads hiring intentions, followed by Tech & IT Services (+37%), and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (+36%).","length":208,"tagName":"p"}]},{"val":[{"type":"text","content":"44% of employers in the region plan to hire in Q1 2026, with company expansion being the top reason for hiring (40%).","length":117,"tagName":"p"}]}],"tagName":"ul","bulletedList":true,"length":428,"olType":false},{"type":"text","content":"SINGAPORE, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hiring optimism across Asia Pacific and the Middle East (APME) is improving, with employers reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of +31% for Q1 2026—up three points from Q4 2025 and seven points higher than Q1 2025.","length":279,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Q1 2026 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey - APME Key Findings","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Q1 2026 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey - APME Key Findings","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":225,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/37e7aa0d0e1773febd511b3d96ffebcb"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gLlSFYuW41wl.cJv64s5ZQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTM5NztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/37e7aa0d0e1773febd511b3d96ffebcb","width":400,"height":225}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2838433/MPG_MEOS_Q1_2026_PR_Newswire_1.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"The survey of 12,193 employers across 10 APME countries and territories, found that 44% of employers expect to expand their workforce, 13% are anticipating a decrease in headcount, and another 39% are planning to maintain current staffing levels. Meanwhile, 4% are uncertain about staffing changes in the upcoming quarter.","length":322,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Apart from India (+52%) and the U.A.E. (+46%), hiring remains subdued. China's Outlook (+24%) softened by nine points, Hong Kong (+1%) posts the region's lowest and among the weakest globally, while Austr...