Hiring outlook holds at 13% in Q4: survey

Nearly half of employers plan to maintain their workforce as recruitment becomes more selective.

Hiring outlook remained stable QoQ in Q4 2026, but employers are becoming more selective when adding workers, according to a ManpowerGroup survey.

The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook stood at 13%, unchanged from Q3 but seven percentage points lower than a year earlier.

The measure represents the share of employers planning to increase their workforce minus the share expecting to reduce it.

Of the 651 Singapore employers surveyed, 32% planned to increase headcount, down three percentage points from the previous quarter.

Another 47% expected to maintain their current staffing levels, up from 41%, whilst 19% anticipated reductions. The remaining 2% were uncertain.

Trade and Logistics recorded the strongest hiring outlook at 22%, followed by Finance and Insurance at 20% and Technology and IT Services at 18%.

Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, said employers were prioritising roles that support transformation, address critical capability requirements and strengthen long-term competitiveness instead of pursuing broad workforce expansion.

Recruitment is also taking longer for some organisations. About 33% of employers said vacancies took longer to fill than a year ago, whilst 42% reported no change and 24% said positions were filled more quickly.

Amongst those experiencing delays, 43% cited a mismatch between candidates and jobs. A lack of applicants with the required skills was identified by 35%, whilst 29% reported a shortage of qualified local candidates.

Early-career hiring remained broadly stable. About 37% of employers increased their recruitment of early-career workers, whilst 39% reported no change and 22% reduced hiring.

Amongst employers that cut early-career recruitment, 38% cited AI-driven automation, 34% pointed to cost pressures favouring experienced workers and 30% attributed the decline to lower overall hiring activity.