Employers post 15% hiring outlook for Q1 2026

It is a decline of 11% from last year.

More than 500 employers in Singapore reported a seasonally adjusted net employment outlook (NEO) of 15% for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, or a decline of 11% from last year.

This is after finance and insurance employers in the city-state reported the higher NEO for Q12026 at 33%, rising 23% from the same period last year, ManpowerGroup said in its Employment Outlook Survey.

Amongst employers in various sectors here, 46% of businesses plan to keep their staffing levels unchanged next year, it added.

A total of 32% of employers will increase their staff between January and March 2026.

Hiring decreases are driven by market shifts that lower job demand, ManpowerGroup said.

NEO measures the difference between the percentage of employers expecting to increase staffing and those expecting to decrease staffing levels, the group added.

The hospitality industry maintains a high NEO of 46% despite it falling 8%.

Singapore’s hotel sector is optimistic about 2026 as tourism continues to recover, with visitor arrivals for 2025 projected at about 17 million, roughly 90% of 2019 levels, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Overall employment increased by 25,100 in Q3 2025, stronger than the 10,400 increase seen in the previous quarter, according to the Labour Market Report of the Ministry of Manpower.