Confidence in workforce growth continued to rise across Asia Pacific and the Middle East heading into Q4 2026. Drawing on responses from approximately 12,800 employers across 11 APME markets, the region posted a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 33%.
The outlook increased by five percentage points quarter over quarter and four points year over year, indicating renewed momentum despite continuing economic and workforce pressures.
KEY INSIGHTS
Hiring momentum is strengthening
Nearly half of surveyed employers—46%—expect to increase staffing between October and December, while 13% anticipate reductions. A further 40% expect staffing levels to remain unchanged.
Information and technology-related sectors lead demand
The Information sector reported the strongest outlook at 42%, rising 11 points from the previous year. Tech & IT Services followed at 41%, with Finance & Insurance at 40%. Construction & Real Estate also recorded notable annual improvement of 10 points, while Hospitality reported the weakest outlook at 20% and declined 19 points year over year.
Large employers remain the most optimistic
Organizations with at least 5,000 employees reported the strongest outlook at 39%. However, the greatest year-over-year improvement came from smaller businesses: employers with fewer than 10 employees and those with 10–49 employees each improved by eight points.
Entry-level hiring remains important
Across APME, 45% of employers said their hiring of entry-level workers had increased compared with 2025. Entry-level demand was strongest in Information at 53%, followed by Tech & IT Services at 51%. For employers reducing early-career hiring, the leading reasons were cost pressure and a need for experienced candidates who could contribute immediately—followed by lower overall hiring. AI-driven automation ranked third.
Faster recruitment remains a challenge
Only 31% of employers said time-to-hire had improved. Forty percent reported no change, while 28% said hiring had become slower.
Employers identified better candidate targeting, faster internal decisions and more effective screening as key accelerators. Skills shortages, mismatched expectations, and limited qualified talent continued to slow recruitment.
The Q4 findings point to an active but increasingly selective talent market. Employers will need to combine competitive workforce strategies with faster decision-making, stronger candidate targeting and more effective pathways for developing early-career talent.
Global (English)