Reeracoen Malaysia has released its Hiring Trends Year-on-Year Comparison 2024 vs. 2025, revealing a shift toward more selective, disciplined, and strategic recruitment. While hiring demand remains steady, Malaysian employers are prioritizing skills-aligned talent over broad workforce expansion.
The study highlights how organizations are responding to rising employment costs, persistent skills mismatches, and tight labor markets. Instead of large-scale recruitment drives, companies are adopting phased, targeted hiring plans that focus on roles critical to productivity and long-term growth.
Key Findings: From Volume to Precision
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Selective Recruitment: Employers are increasingly prioritizing job readiness, relevant experience, and long-term fit over sheer volume.
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Strategic Talent Acquisition: Recruitment is now seen as a critical lever for organizational resilience, not just an operational task.
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Market-Informed Decisions: Employers are using benchmarking and robust candidate assessments to guide hiring decisions.
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Phased Hiring Approaches: Organizations are aligning recruitment with business needs, focusing on essential roles first.
Yohei Yagi, Country Manager at Reeracoen Malaysia, noted, “Malaysian employers are still hiring, but they’re doing so with greater precision. Higher employment costs and skills gaps demand more deliberate hiring decisions, prioritizing well-defined, skills-aligned roles over broad expansion.”
The report also emphasizes the growing importance of recruitment partners in helping businesses interpret market conditions and make informed decisions. Kenji Naito, Group CEO of Reeracoen Group, added, “Across Asia-Pacific, tighter labor markets and rising costs are driving a more disciplined approach to hiring. Accuracy and long-term fit now matter more than speed or volume, and recruitment partners play a critical role in supporting sustainable hiring strategies.”
Implications for 2026
As Malaysia’s labor market evolves, success will increasingly hinge on hiring the right skills at the right time. Companies that leverage accurate market data, strategic workforce planning, and targeted recruitment approaches are better positioned to maintain productivity, optimize costs, and build resilient teams.
Reeracoen’s annual Hiring Trends Comparison provides actionable insights and benchmarks, helping HR leaders and business executives make data-driven decisions in an increasingly competitive and complex talent landscape.
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