Q2 2025 Hiring Holds Steady as Employers Face Uncertainty

The Net Employment Outlook remains 25% for third consecutive quarter

• Asia Pacific (30%) leads regional hiring intentions, followed by the Americas (29%), and Europe and the Middle East (20%)
• The Information Technology sector continues to lead with strongest outlook at 35%, followed by Financials & Real Estate (32%), and Health Care & Life Sciences (28%)
• Mid-size companies of 250+ employees report the most robust intentions for the quarter ahead, while the largest enterprises (5,000) are more cautious with an outlook of 25%

Global hiring intentions hold steady heading into the second quarter of 2025, with employers reporting a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 25%, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. The results, which gathered data from nearly 40,000 employers across 41 countries during January 2025, show the Outlook holding steady for the third consecutive quarter while demonstrating a modest three percentage point increase year-over-year. The majority of employers – 42% – expect to maintain current staffing levels, 40% anticipate an increase in hiring, 18% anticipate a decrease or are unsure.

“We are pleased to see hiring outlooks holding steady for three consecutive quarters now – the longest period of stability we have seen since before the pandemic,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chair & CEO. “Despite continued economic and political uncertainty, employers are holding onto the skilled workers they have and hiring cautiously for new talent, particularly those with in-demand skills that will enable their business to transform. As AI accelerates, we expect to see a greater focus on skills development as organizations seek to guide their workforce through a period of transition.”

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.

Q2 KEY FINDINGS

• 40% of employers anticipate an increase in hiring, 15% anticipate a decrease, 42% expect to maintain current staffing levels, and 3% are unsure
• Strongest hiring plans reported in India (43%), USA (34%), and Mexico (33%), while Argentina (0%), Romania (6%), and Greece (7%) report weakest Outlooks
• Information Technology (35%), Financials & Real Estate (32%), and Health Care & Life Sciences (28%) sectors report the strongest hiring intentions
• Company expansion (38%) is cited as the top reason for staffing increases, while economic uncertainty (35%) was listed as the top reason for employers anticipating a staffing decrease in the second quarter

GLOBAL HIRING PLANS BY REGION

Asia Pacific (APAC): The region reports the strongest regional Outlook with 30%, showing a 3-percentage point increase from both the previous quarter and year-over-year.

• India leads global hiring confidence with an Outlook of 43%
• The region leads in creating new roles due to tech advancements, with Taiwan (39%) and India (38%) as frontrunners

The Americas: With an Outlook of 29%, hiring intentions are unchanged since the previous quarter but up 3% when compared to the same period last year.

• Employers in the U.S.A. (34%), Mexico (33%), Canada (32%), and Costa Rica (32%) reported the strongest hiring intentions across the regions for Q2
• Employers in Argentina report the lowest global Outlook at 0%, reflecting continued economic challenges

Europe and the Middle East: Hiring expectations remain the lowest regionally (20%) but have strengthened by one point since Q1 2025 and four points year-over-year.

• The UK (31%), the Netherlands (27%), and Norway (27%) report the strongest hiring intentions in the region
• The strongest Outlook globally for the Energy and Utilities industry vertical was reported by employers in Switzerland (59%), Healthcare and Life Sciences in Austria (55%), and Transport, Logistics, and Automotive in the Netherlands (53%)

To view the complete results for the Q2 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, including regional and country data, visit: go.manpowergroup.com/meos. The next survey will be released in June 2025 and will report hiring expectations for the third quarter of the year.