Hiring sentiment for Q1 2026 softens to lowest in three years

Conditions for Q1 2026 have weakened to +15%, the lowest level since Q1 2022.

Net employment outlook (NEO) declined by five points to +15% for Q1 2026, compared to Q4 2025, and 11 points year-over-year (YoY) as market changes reduce demand for specific jobs or as companies downsize and consolidate.

This marks the lowest NEO since Q1 2022, when it last stood at +15%.

Among the 504 surveyed Singaporean employers, 46% stated they are to sustain their current staffing levels, 32% said they are planning to expand their pool of staff, and 18% projected a decrease in their staffing levels. The remaining 4% are uncertain about the changes in staffing levels for the upcoming quarter.

Looking ahead, hiring sentiment is expected to remain measured as external pressures and softer global demand influence business confidence, said Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore.

“More employers are focused on maintaining staffing levels or holding off on making staffing decisions while waiting to see how economic conditions evolve, whilst those hiring are doing so strategically, driven by organisational growth, diversity initiatives and maintaining a competitive advantage,” Teo stated in the press release.

Market shifts, restructuring, operational efficiency, right-sizing, and automation were named as causes for the lower hiring sentiment.

Companies planning for expansion are driven by organisational growth, diversity initiatives, competitive advantages, new business areas, backfilling recent vacancies, and addressing longer-standing vacancies.

Follow the link for more news on

Manpower Group

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia