ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Q1 2025

ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey​

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Get insights on employers' hiring plans across nine sectors, strategies and progress on diversity and inclusion, and more

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A Message from Mr. François Lançon, President of Asia Pacific and Middle East (APME) Region, ManpowerGroup

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"The labor market across Asia Pacific is demonstrating a level of resilience as we approach the fourth quarter. The increase in hiring intentions from the previous quarter signals that employers are adjusting to ongoing economic challenges and are keen to secure the talent necessary for growth. We continue to see a strong outlook in the IT sector, highlighting the critical role of technology in driving workforce demand across the region. As digital transformation and the adoption of AI technology accelerates, the need for skilled IT professionals continues to rise, making it essential for businesses to invest in talent attraction and development.”

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Key Findings

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Asia Pacific reports the second strongest regional outlook: Hiring managers across the Asia-Pacific countries 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.

Businesses in India continue to lead the region in hiring sentiment: India (40%), China (29%), and Singapore (25%), continue to report the strongest Outlooks in the region. The most cautious Outlooks were reported by employers in Hong Kong (6%).

The strongest Outlooks by sector: In the Transport, Logistics, and Automotive industry vertical, the strongest Outlook was reported by employers in Singapore (67%). Employers in China reported the highest Outlooks for both Financials and Real Estate (53%, tied with employers in Belgium) and Healthcare and Life Sciences (47%). More companies have reached and are getting closer to gender equality: 70% of employers report having reached and are getting closer to gender equality, an improvement from 34% in 2024.

More organizations are on track with their pay equality initiatives: More than half of organizations (56%) are on track with their pay equity initiatives, improving 1% when compared to last year.

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ManpowerGroup interviewed 10,095 employers from 7 APAC countries and territories on their hiring intentions for Q1 2025. Download our press release, infographic, and report to learn more about the survey results and take a deeper dive into APAC trends and key findings.

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PRESS RELEASE | REPORT | INFOGRAPHIC

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​What is the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey?

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey measures employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the upcoming quarter. It is the most extensive forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size, scope and longevity. The Survey has been running since 1962 and is one of the most trusted indicators of labor market trends in the world.

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What questions do you ask in the survey?

All the data in the survey is based on the answer to one question: How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the coming three months as compared to the current quarter?

In addition to the main employment question, the survey asks up to six additional questions which change quarterly. These questions reflect changing economic or workforce dynamics and trends. Topic areas range from talent shortage to workforce training and development to employee sentiments and well-being.

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What is meant by Net Employment Outlook (NEO)?

The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers that expect to see a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter. A positive Net Employment Outlook figure means that, on balance, there are more employers who expect to add to their headcount in the following three months than those who intend to reduce staff.

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Does the survey provide data on planned employment changes?

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey only measures if employers expect to hire or not and does not provide information about specific job changes. The Survey is a forecast, not a commitment, based on informed opinions from employers and hiring managers on what will likely happen in their organization in the following quarter.

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How large is the sample worldwide?

The Q1 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with 40,413 public and private employers in 42 countries.

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What is the survey methodology?

The methodology used to collect the data for the Employment Outlook is digitized across the 42 markets, beginning with the Q1 2022 report. Respondents in previous quarters were contacted via telephone. Data is now collected online with double opt-in member panels and they are incentivized to complete the survey.

The survey participants are not derived from ManpowerGroup’s customer base. To protect the integrity of the data, survey respondents remain completely anonymous and confidential.

In line with standard findings of online surveys, more people are now taking a position – selecting that their workforce will either increase or decrease vs. no change. Because the Net Employment Outlook is based only on the people saying increase or decrease, the result of this higher level of engagement means the methodology shift may contribute to a higher Outlook.

For the Q1 2025 report, the survey responses were collected 1 Oct - 31 Oct 2024.

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How are companies selected for the survey?

Employers are selected based on the types of companies and organizations they represent. We want to ensure that our panel is representative of each participating country’s national labor market, so each country’s panel is built in proportion to that country’s overall distribution of industry sectors and organization sizes.

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Who do you interview in each company?

The person we select to interview will be someone with a good overview of staffing levels and hiring intentions within their organization. Normally this will be the head of HR or an HR manager. However, in smaller organizations, that person may be a general manager or even the CEO.

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Who conducts the research?

Reputation Leaders is our lead research partner who analyzes data for all 42 countries and territories to ensure consistency.

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Can you explain the Margin of Error calculation?

By their very nature, surveys are imperfect measures. All surveys have a margin of error, which is largely determined by the number of interviews completed. For the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the minimum panel size in each country and territory is 620 to ensure a margin of error no greater than +/-3.9%. This prevents undue distortion of the data because of one respondent changing their response from one quarter to the next. No single panel member represents more than 2% of the total sample in an industry sector or region.

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Why do you seasonally adjust the data?

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical process that allows the Survey data to be presented without the impact of hiring fluctuations that normally occur through the course of the year, usually as a result of various external factors, such changes in weather, traditional production cycles and public holidays. Seasonal adjustment has the effect of flattening peaks and smoothing troughs in the data to better illustrate underlying employment trends and provide a more accurate representation of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey results.

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How do you know if hiring intentions reported come to fruition?

ManpowerGroup does not track retrospective hiring trends as part of the Employment Outlook Survey, only forward-looking expectations. However, we are able to see that the Survey results do align with employment trends reported by governments and other organizations quite closely and provide one of the most robust and trusted indicators of forward-looking labor market trends in the world.

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What is the best way to analyze the results?

There are several ways to review the results which are reported for 42 countries across 4 regions and specific industries within each. The current results, including the Net Employment Outlook, provide a snapshot of employers’ expectations for the coming three months. 

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Comparing this result to the previous quarter provides a short-term perspective of hiring expectations in a particular country or sector, while comparing to the previous year gives a longer-term view on employer intentions.

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