The global hiring outlook weakened for Q4 2024 when compared to the same time last year by 5%, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. Global hiring strengthened from Q3 to Q4 2024, increasing by 3% to 25% from 22%.

The survey, which gathered data from 40,340 employers across 42 countries between 1-31 July, 2024, said the year-over-year decrease indicates that economic uncertainties continue to impact hiring plans, despite the quarter-over-quarter improvement.

Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO, said in a press release, “The global labor market is holding steady as we move into the fourth quarter, with relatively low unemployment and layoff activity in many countries. While the gradual quarter-over-quarter improvement shows employers are cautiously optimistic about hiring, the drop from a year ago suggests employers remain prudent in the midst of uncertainty.”

The strongest hiring plans are reported in India (37%), Costa Rica (36%) and the US (34%), while the weakest outlooks are in Argentina (4%) and Israel (8%). Employers in the IT (35%) and financials and real estate (32%) sectors report the strongest hiring intentions.

Prising added, “The continued strong outlook in the IT sector is driving demand for tech talent, especially with AI top of mind for businesses across every industry. Now is the time to prioritize retaining and attracting workers with specialized, flexible skills and an adaptable mindset to adjust to the evolving requirements.”

Global Hiring Plans by Region

North American employers remain the most optimistic with a 32% outlook in Q4, an increase of 5% from Q3 2024 but still down 3% from Q4 2023. Employers in the US (34%) reported the strongest hiring intentions in the region, increasing 4% quarter over quarter. US employers also continue to report one of the strongest global outlooks for the IT sector.

Across the APAC region, hiring managers anticipate the second strongest regional outlook (27%), an increase from the previous quarter (4%) but decreased when compared to the same time last year (-5%). Employers in India (37%), Singapore (29%) and China (27%) continue to report the strongest outlooks in the region, while the most cautious outlook was reported by employers in Hong Kong (8%). Singapore reported the strongest global outlook for the financials and real estate sector at 64%.

Meanwhile, Central and South America saw a 23% outlook as hiring projections improved quarter over quarter (1%) but declined year over year (-8%). The strongest intentions are reported by employers in Costa Rica (36%), Brazil (32%) and Guatemala (30%). Employers in Guatemala reported the strongest hiring outlook globally for the consumer goods and services sector (56%), while Costa Rica reported the strongest intentions in both the IT (53%) and industrials and materials (43%) sectors.

Employers in EMEA report the lowest hiring outlook among all regions at 21%. While hiring intentions weakened -3% compared to the same period last year, they have strengthened by 2% since Q3 2024.

Employers in South Africa (32%), Switzerland (32%), Ireland (30%) and the Netherlands (30%) reported the strongest hiring plans, while those in Israel (8%) and the Czech Republic (11%) anticipate the weakest hiring activity.

Both the UK (28%) and France (22%) reported outlooks surpassing the EMEA average. Belgium reported the strongest global outlook for the healthcare and life sciences sector (62%), while South Africa led in energy and utilities (55%).

The Net Employment Outlook (NEO) is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.