Hiring intentions in Vietnam rose by 8 percentage points quarter-over-quarter in Q4, with 52% of surveyed employers planning to increase headcount between October - December.
KEY FINDINGS
- Vietnam reported a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 36% for Q4 2026.
- Hiring growth is mainly driven by company expansion, while automation is a key factor behind anticipated staffing reductions.
- Information leads all industry sectors in hiring outlook with a NEO of 64%.
- The strongest hiring demand is observed in the Northern region and among mid-sized organizations with 50–249 employees.
- Employers reported increased hiring of entry-level workers compared with 2025, particularly for roles in engineering, AI, traditional IT, and data.
- Not all employers report improvements in time-to-hire compared with 2025, citing persistent challenges such as talent shortages and mismatches between candidate expectations and job requirements.
VIETNAM (September 8, 2026) – Vietnam hiring momentum has strengthened heading into the final quarter of 2026, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS). The survey of 285 employers nationwide reports a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 36% for Q4 2026, up 8 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Vietnam's hiring outlook remains stronger than both regional and global averages (with NEOs at 33% and 29% respectively), ranking 3rd in the Asia Pacific & Middle East (APME) region and 11th globally among 42 markets.
The Q4 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, conducted during July 1 - 31, 2026, gathered insights from nearly 40,000 employers across 42 countries and territories. Among the 285 employers surveyed in Vietnam, 52% expect to increase staffing between October and December, 16% anticipate reductions, and 32% plan to maintain current staffing levels.
Company Expansion and Automation Lead Workforce Decisions
- Among employers planning to add staff, 52% cite company expansion as a reason for hiring, almost unchanged from Q3 and remaining the leading hiring driver, suggesting confidence in the country's economic outlook through year-end.
- Among employers anticipating workforce reductions, the reduced need for certain roles due to automation emerges as the primary driver this quarter. Cited by 52% of these employers, this proportion is more than twice the level reported in APME (24%) and globally (22%), highlighting the substantial effect automation is having on workforce planning and role requirements in Vietnam. Four in ten employers say economic challenges are negatively affecting staffing.
“Hiring confidence in Vietnam remains resilient, but employers are becoming increasingly selective about where they invest in talent,” said Nguyen Thu Trang, Head of Manpower Brand, Manpower Vietnam. “While business expansion remains the leading driver of recruitment, automation is changing how work is organized and which skills are most valued. As a result, companies are focusing their hiring efforts on roles that directly enable productivity, innovation, and sustainable business growth, rather than simply adding headcount.”
Information Sector, Northern Region, and Mid-Sized Firms Lead Hiring Outlooks
- Employers in every surveyed sector in Vietnam report positive hiring intentions for the coming quarter. The Information sector is expected to see the most robust hiring activity, with a NEO of 64%, up 10 percentage points from the previous quarter.
- Northern Vietnam reports the strongest hiring outlook, with a NEO of 41%. However, the Central region saw the most significant quarter-over-quarter improvement, rising 38 points after recording a 0% NEO in Q3.
- Mid-sized organizations (50-249 employees) report the strongest hiring outlook among company sizes in Vietnam, posting a Q4 2026 NEO of 49%.
AI Has Yet to Make Hiring Consistently Faster
While employers increasingly have access to technologies such as AI to support recruitment, faster hiring remains elusive for many organizations. Employers are nearly evenly split between those reporting faster hiring (42%) and slower hiring (40%) compared with 2025, while 16% say their average time-to-hire has remained unchanged and 1% are unsure.
Skills shortages continue to constrain hiring progress. Around half of employers cite a lack of candidates, whether due to insufficient applicants with the required skills or a shortage of qualified talent in the market, as the primary factor slowing recruitment. Mismatches between candidate expectations and job requirements (43%) further complicate recruitment, while the increasing volume of AI-generated resumes and CVs is emerging as a new challenge in identifying the right talent.
Nguyen Thu Trang, Head of Manpower Brand, Manpower Vietnam, commented: “AI is helping improve recruitment efficiency, but it is also introducing new barriers for employers seeking qualified candidates. As hiring becomes more complex, balancing technology with human judgment is essential. At the same time, employers that focus on candidate experience and adapt to evolving workforce expectations are likely to gain an advantage in attracting talent.”
Early-Career Hiring is Strongest in STEM Roles
Overall, 57% of employers in Vietnam report increasing their hiring of entry-level talent compared with 2025. Hiring momentum is strongest in the Information sector, where 77% of employers are expanding early-career recruitment to meet demand for emerging technology skills.
Engineering roles (48%), AI model and application development roles (37%), and traditional IT and Data roles (37%) are the top positions for which employers are increasing early-career hiring, highlighting the growing role of young talent in Vietnam's STEM talent pipeline.
Among employers reducing early-career hiring, the primary drivers are cost pressures that increase demand for experienced talent, AI-driven automation that has reduced some entry-level roles, and candidates' lack of relevant experience.
To explore Vietnam hiring trends in detail, view the full Q4 2026 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey at: https://www.manpower.com.vn/en/insights/meos/2026
The next survey will be released in December 2026, reporting hiring expectations for Q1 2027.
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ABOUT THE SURVEY
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, now in its 64th year, is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind, used globally as a key labor market indicator. 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.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The data for the fourth quarter was collected between July 1–31, 2026. The findings are based on interviews with 39,878 public and private employers across 42 countries to measure anticipated employment changes and trends. The results reflect employer sentiment at the time of data collection and may not capture the potential impact of subsequent events. Size of organization and sector are standardized across all countries and territories to allow international comparisons.
ABOUT MANPOWERGROUP
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing, and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower, Experis, and Talent Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across more than 70 countries and territories and has done so for more than 75 years. We are recognized consistently as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality, and Disability, and in 2026 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 17th time; all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.
For more information, visit www.manpowergroup.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding labor demand in certain regions, countries and industries, and economic uncertainty. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, due to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These factors include those found in the Company’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, whose information is incorporated herein by reference. ManpowerGroup disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements in this release, except as required by law.
Media Contact
Thao Phan
Senior Executive, Marketing & PR
Manpower Vietnam
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