The tech industry is the most optimistic sector when it comes to increased hiring next year, but there is set to be fewer job openings in Australia than much of the rest of the world.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for the first quarter of 2025 is based on a survey of the hiring expectations of organisations around the world.

It produces a Net Employment Outlook, a percentage score calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers planning staffing reductions from those who are planning to hire.

Australia recorded a Net Employment Outlook of 11 per cent for Q1 2025, a positive score but far below the global average of 25 per cent.

Australia ranked 36th globally when it comes to this measure, and fifth in the Asia-Pacific region.

This represented a sharp drop from recent years, falling by 3 per cent in the last quarter and 17 per cent from last year.

Overall, nearly a third of employers surveyed said they are planning to increase hiring in the first quarter of next year, just under 20 per cent anticipate a decrease in staffing levels, and nearly half planned to maintain levels as is.

South Australia was the only jurisdiction to not report a positive score, with the Australian Canberra Territory having the strongest outlook with 24 per cent.

Tech sector leading the way

While Australia performed somewhat poorly overall, the tech industry has strong intentions of expansions and hirings next year.

The IT industry reported a Net Employment Outlook of 27 per cent, the strongest of any sector.

This is despite this figure declining by one per cent from the last quarter, and two per cent year-on-year.

This is still lower than the global average for the IT sector, with the report finding a Net Employment Outlook of 37 per cent for the tech industry.

Small businesses had the biggest plans to expand their workforce, with companies with less than 50 employees reporting a score of 23 per cent.

This contrasts with the global results, where companies with up to 250 employees have the strongest outlooks for early next year.

Globally, just over 40 per cent of employers are expecting to hire in the first quarter of next year, 40 per cent are expecting no changes, and just over 15 per cent are bracing for reductions.

Retain your tech talent

ManpowerGroup chair and CEO Jonas Prising said the data shows that companies around the world are looking to maintain and retain the talent they already have.

“The fluctuations we have seen in recent quarters are beginning to stabilise, indicating employers have adapted to ongoing economic uncertainty and are maintaining steady workforce planning,” Prising said in a statement.

“The sustained strength in the IT sector and consistent hiring intentions among larger organisations point to stability too, and we hope to see this trend continue into 2025.”

Companies in the Americas had the strongest hiring outlook, followed by the Asia-Pacific region.

In terms of individual countries, India had the highest hiring intention with 40 per cent of surveyed companies, followed by the United States with 34 per cent and Mexico with 32 per cent.

Another recent report found that one in three Australians are currently struggling to find a new job, with job vacancies on the decline.

According to the study, 39 per cent of respondents said they were struggling to find a new role, and just over a quarter said they are unable to find a job listing that is matched to their skill sets.