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ManpowerGroup sees the global staffing market stabilising after a difficult 2025 and says improving economic conditions could set up the industry for growth in 2026, despite continuing geopolitical and trade uncertainty.
“With an improving economic outlook in Europe and a very strong economic outlook for the United States, there’s hope that the staffing industry as a whole can see some opportunities for growth in 2026,” CEO Jonas Prising told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He declined to give a specific outlook for Manpower, which is due to report its fourth quarter earnings on January 29.
Based on broader economic data, he said the overall hiring market was starting to recover after a “tough year” in 2025 in the United States and parts of Europe.
Prising said forward-looking indicators, such as PMI data, showed mixed momentum, with U.S. manufacturing still weak but Europe showing tentative improvement.
He said there was resilient demand for staff in services, particularly for healthcare workers, while defence-linked activity was also a strong focus for employers due to increased spending on defense and aerospace.
By contrast, the automotive industry is “clearly … a pain point” across several markets and is likely to continue to be weak as manufacturers adjust to changing regulations and the switch to electric cars.
The U.S. staffing company’s recent survey of 40,000 companies across 40 countries showed the overall mood is improving.
“Employers are pretty stable in their outlook,” Prising said.
“They are not seeing an imminent need to radically reduce their workforce, while they also don’t see an imminent need to rapidly increase their workforce.”
However, many workers are also reluctant to switch jobs.
“We call it job hugging,” Prising said, saying concerns about global economic uncertainty made people want to sit tight and not move.
(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Mark Potter and Sharon Singleton)
