According to the Humanpower Company's survey on Recruitment Trends for the first quarter of 2026, global economic instability continues to affect human resource recruitment plans in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East (APME).
The survey conducted by APME on 12,000 employers in 10 countries and territories shows that 44% of businesses expect to increase recruitment; 13% expect to reduce recruitment; 39% maintain current personnel levels; 4% of businesses are uncertain about changing the scale of personnel in the coming quarter.
Except for the two leading markets in terms of recruitment prospects, India (52%) and the UAE (46%), recruitment is generally low. China's net recruitment prospects are 24%, down 9 points; Hong Kong (China) is 1% - the lowest in the region and among the weakest globally Australia is 18%; Singapore is 15%.
According to Manpower, recruitment plans in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions reflect an oriented growth trend. The company is strategically expanding the scale of human resources, prioritizing positions that contribute to promoting innovation and adaptability. India and the Middle East are leading the growth momentum, other markets in the Asia-Pacific region are choosing a more cautious approach due to unstable economic conditions. This strategy aims to build a solid foundation for the future, specifically investing in appropriate skills to maintain competitiveness in a constantly changing market.
According to the report, enterprises in the two fields of finance, insurance and information technology recorded the strongest recruitment prospects in the first quarter of 2026 at 38%. While the public sector, healthcare and social services are the sectors with the highest growth rate compared to the previous quarter (up 8 points).
In terms of enterprise size, enterprises at APME with 5,000 or more employees recorded the most positive prospects in the first quarter of 2026, while enterprises with less than 10 employees and 10,49 employees forecast the strongest improvement compared to the previous quarter.
The economic situation has a clearer impact on businesses planning to reduce recruitment. 31% of this group of businesses said that challenges from economic instability are the main cause of human resource reduction. Other factors include: Market fluctuations; automation; restructuring or narrowing scale; adjusting according to current business needs; optimizing operational efficiency.
Enterprises expected to increase recruitment are mainly due to the following reasons: Expanding the scale of enterprises; having more business projects or new markets; meeting the development requirements of technology; needing new-skills personnel to increase competitive advantage; increasing personnel diversification.
Notably, among the enterprises expected to increase personnel, only 21% are recruiting replacement positions for newly quit jobs, and 18% are completing recruitment for positions that have not been recruited for a long time.
