The Manpower Group interviewed more than 10,700 employers in the region, including 136 from Hong Kong.
It said while 22 percent of bosses in the SAR plan to hire staff over the next few months, 24 percent said they may sack some of their employees.
As a result, Hong Kong’s net employment outlook would stand at minus two percent.
Taiwan, on the other hand, came out top of the list in the region with an employment outlook of 24 percent.
The group said employers in the finance, insurance and real estate, manufacturing, as well as wholesale and retail trade sectors have all reported strong hiring sentiment.
Coming in second on the list was Singapore, with a net employment outlook of 17 percent and third was India, at 9 percent.
A senior vice president of Manpower Group, Lancy Chui said Hong Kong companies have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the retail and service industries among the hardest hit.
“The business environment of the retail industry remains challenging in the near term, due to the freeze in inbound tourism,” she said.
“However, there is a rise in e-commerce which leads to a high demand in operation and logistics roles. Benefiting from the new normal economy, companies are focusing on their online business and demand for IT solution services, including developers, infrastructure, AI and IT security positions.”
Chui added that 29 percent of local employers don’t expect to return this year to hiring levels before the pandemic, while 10 percent said they would never reach that level again.
She believes the city’s unemployment rate will continue to rise this year.
“The workforce participation will continue to move in a cautious direction, even [with] the roll-out of vaccinations. While the pace of hiring is expected to slow down this year, employers will freeze recruitment, especially the industries that are heavily impacted. The number of new job openings of traditional retail, travel and hospitality sector still remain slow,” she told RTHK’s Natale Ching.
