38% of companies in the country plan to increase their payroll for the months of January, February and March 2026, revealed the ManpowerGroup Peru Employment Expectations Survey. 17% answered that they would reduce staff.
The sectors that show greater dynamism for the first quarter are energy, finance and real estate, and information technologies. The other side of the coin is manufacturing employers who are experiencing a drastic reduction in their hiring intentions.
Meanwhile, the survey revealed Greater Lima and La Libertad are the regions with the most robust optimism. Ucayali and Cusco also have great intentions for the months of analysis. Arequipa, for its part, is the area where there is the most pessimism in this regard.
On the other hand, the evaluation by business size revealed that large companies (which group from 250 to 999 workers) are the ones with the highest hiring expectations, followed by microbusinesses that have less than 10 employees.
In South America, Brazil is the country that will lead hiring expectations with +54%. Colombia follows with +19%. Peru, with +18% is above Chile (+13%) and Argentina (+10%).
In this regard, the commercial director of ManpowerGroup Peru, Daniel Galdos, highlighted the spirit of Peruvian employers, but indicated that there is some caution for what 2026 will mean, mainly due to the elections.
“The mood of Peruvian employers remains optimistic, but with some caution for what is coming in 2026, a time of political changes and where the continuity of projects that impact job creation is defined,” he commented.
Likewise, he stated that companies are attentive to macroeconomic cycles, and everything indicates that the country’s key industries remain firm in their investments, which would contribute to energizing the labor market.
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