Each quarter, our parent company, ManpowerGroup, releases its Employment Outlook Survey. Looking ahead to what Q1 2025 has in store, we can see that hiring expectations in the United States are the highest of anywhere in the Americas. While there are no doubt challenges in store, there are several notable positive trends to consider, particularly with respect to gains in pay equity, gender equality, and workforce retention.
Top Takeaways From the Q1 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
Hiring Expectations
According to the survey, the Net Employment Outlook in the United States—which is the difference between employers who expect to shed workforce and those who expect to add to it—is 34%. Of the more than 6,000 U.S. employers polled, 46% say they plan to increase hiring efforts between January and March of 2025. This figure has been largely consistent going back to mid-2023 and is down from the five-year high of over 45% in Q4 2021.
Industry Outlook
With respect to hiring trends, the 2025 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey finds that the IT industry has the brightest outlook. Up two percentage points from Q4 2024, the IT industry boasts a Net Employment Outlook of 53%. This is followed by financials and real estate (40%), industrials and materials (36%), and healthcare and life sciences (32%). The industry with the lowest outlook is communication services at 22%.
Gender Equality on the Rise
More companies believe that they are getting closer to achieving or have already achieved full gender equality. According to the Employment Outlook Survey, 33% of companies polled say they already operate a fully equitable workplace—up from 27% in 2024. On the flip side, companies that believe they are a long way from or still reasonably far from equity are down to 11% and 18%, respectively. In terms of recruiting and retaining an equal workforce, employers say that their greatest strengths are team building, supporting employee well-being, and deploying career development opportunities.
Pay Equity Initiatives Up
On the whole, 58% of companies say that their pay equity initiatives are going according to plan, which is a 5% year-over-year improvement. The information technology industry excels once again at 69%, followed by transport, logistics, and automotive (63%); industrials and materials (61%), and healthcare and life sciences (57%).
Download Your Free Copy of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
There’s much more to discover in the Q1 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, and you can download the report for free. For even more prescient insights, check out our 2024 State of Careers reports, including Money Can’t Buy You Loyalty and The Engagement Illusion. To learn more about our services and how we can help your business, contact Right Management Florida/Caribbean.