The only way is up: Employer hiring confidence hits rock bottom
Employment confidence has plummeted across all sectors in the UK, with the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey showing a sharp decline in hiring intentions for the third quarter of 2025. UK employers report a hiring outlook of +19%, a positive albeit significantly reduced Outlook (-12%) from the previous quarter as market volatility dampens confidence.
For the first time since 2021, several sectors including communications services and energy & utilities are planning to reduce headcount rather than increase.
The sectors in which employers are showing the most positive intent to hire are IT (+47%), Industrials and Materials (+29%), Financials & Real Estate (+28%), and Healthcare and Life Sciences (+21%).
Petra Tagg, Director, ManpowerGroup UK said:
“The vast drop this quarter marks a one-off reset that we have been anticipating to the employment market. After months of uncertainty, hitting this new low is a symptom of the entire labour market re-aligning after the changes imposed by the National Insurance and Living Wage increases, alongside the recent uncertainties of the US trade tariffs. From here, employers will ‘wait and see’ to gauge the volume of the reset rather than making any swift decisions towards the end of the year.”
Find out more in the Q3 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey report, featuring detailed insights on employer hiring appetite by industry, region and company size:
