Global employer hiring intentions strengthened slightly for the fourth quarter of 2026, with the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) rising to 29%. This marks an increase of two points from the previous quarter and six points from the same period last year, according to ManpowerGroup’s latest survey.

The data reflects a workforce in transition rather than simple expansion. Among employers planning to add staff, 62% cite changing roles and skills as the primary driver. This includes branching into new areas and adapting to advancing technology. Only 32% of those adding staff are backfilling positions, indicating that transformation is reshaping the labor market more than organic growth alone.

Regional and Sector Highlights

India recorded the highest hiring outlook among all 42 countries surveyed at 54%. This places it ahead of Vietnam (36%) and China (34%). The Asia Pacific region reported a 34% NEO, up six points quarter-over-quarter.

In the Americas, the regional outlook stood at 36%, with Panama posting the largest year-over-year improvement worldwide at 26 points. Brazil (53%) and Mexico (41%) also showed strong intentions. Europe and the Middle East reported a 22% NEO, led by the United Arab Emirates (41%).

Construction & Real Estate and Finance & Insurance sectors reported the strongest intentions at 36%. Construction & Real Estate posted the largest sectoral improvement, rising 13 points year-over-year.

Entry-Level Hiring and AI Impact

Entry-level hiring remains resilient despite technological shifts. Across all industries, 45% of employers plan to increase early-career hiring compared with 2025, while only 20% anticipate cuts. Where reductions occur, cost pressures and lack of experience are cited as drivers, rather than AI or automation.

Despite increased AI usage in recruitment, time-to-hire has not universally improved. Only 28% of employers report faster hiring times compared with 2025. Conversely, 30% say it has become slower, while 41% report no change.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between high hiring intent and stagnant recruitment efficiency suggests structural friction. While 62% of hirers seek new skills, 30% report slower time-to-hire. This indicates that the complexity of sourcing specialized talent for transformed roles may be offsetting the efficiency gains from AI tools, creating a bottleneck in workforce adaptation despite strong demand.

Organizations are accelerating investments in artificial intelligence, yet leadership readiness remains a significant barrier to realizing value from these technologies. New research from ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions reveals that only 3% of organizations report their leaders are highly prepared to manage AI-enabled ways of working. This gap in leadership capability occurs alongside widespread workforce anxiety, with 78% of organizations reporting employee concern about how AI will affect their jobs.

The report, titled "The New Talent Equation: Activating Workforce Confidence at Scale," was developed in collaboration with Everest Group. It draws on a survey of 80 C-suite, CHRO, and senior talent acquisition leaders across the United States and United Kingdom. The findings indicate that technology adoption is no longer the primary challenge; instead, the human side of transformation—specifically workforce confidence, leadership capability, and employee trust—determines which organizations successfully leverage AI.

Workforce Readiness Lags Behind Adoption

The research highlights a disconnect between the deployment of AI and the preparation of the workforce to use it effectively. Only 17% of organizations report advanced or transformational workforce readiness, where AI capability is deeply embedded into workflows and linked to measurable business outcomes. Nearly half of the organizations surveyed describe their leaders as only moderately prepared to guide teams through AI-driven changes.

Trust and Reskilling as Key Priorities

Employee trust is emerging as a critical factor in AI adoption. The study found that 63% of organizations report workforce resistance to adopting AI tools after deployment. Despite fears of job displacement, organizations are largely focusing on reskilling rather than reducing headcount. Nearly 63% identify reskilling and redeployment as the most common outcome for employees whose roles are significantly impacted by AI. Additionally, 86% rank AI-focused upskilling and reskilling among their top workforce priorities over the next 12 to 18 months.

Productivity Gains Through Collaboration

The report suggests that the greatest productivity gains are achieved when AI augments human work rather than fully automating it. Thirty-four percent of organizations report their greatest productivity improvements in AI-augmented roles, where people and AI collaborate through redesigned workflows. In contrast, only 8% report their strongest gains from fully automated roles. The findings emphasize that the next phase of AI transformation will be defined by how effectively organizations prepare people to work alongside AI technologies.