Nearly half of Hong Kong employers plan to maintain headcount in Q4 2025 amidst hiring slowdown

Work-life balance (49%) emerges as the most effective talent retention strategy among Hong Kong employers.

Hong Kong employers are signaling a cautious approach to hiring in the final quarter of 2025, according to ManpowerGroup’s Q4 2025 Hong Kong Employment Outlook report. While hiring pace is expected to slow, overall sentiment remains stable.

The report showed that the city’s net employment outlook stands at 7%, calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers planning reductions from those planning to hire. This marks a one-point decline from the previous quarter and a two-point drop year-on-year.

Nearly one-third (31%) of Hong Kong employers anticipate an increase in hiring in Q4 2025, while 24% anticipate a decrease and 42% plan to keep their head count unchanged.

Among industries, Transport, Logistics and Automotive leads with the highest hiring intention at 32%, followed by Information Technology (18%) and Communication Services (16%).

When asked about the biggest talent acquisition challenge, nearly half of Hong Kong employers (49%) cited attracting qualified candidates. However, the majority of employers (61%) expressed confidence in their hiring process to select the right people for the right roles.

When it comes to retention, work-life balance (49%) tops the list of effective strategies, followed by:

• employee recognition (41%)
• work schedule flexibility (35%)
• leadership behaviour (33%)
• training opportunities (25%)

To adapt to the evolving talent landscape, 77% of Hong Kong employers rely predominantly on permanent full-time employees for core and strategic functions, while supplementing with contract workers for specific operational and customer facing roles.

On the other hand, among employers anticipating staff reductions in the fourth quarter of 2025, the top cited reasons include:

• economic challenges (43%)
• market changes (37%)
• restructuring or downsizing (33%)
• automation (29%)