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Explore Major Market Trends From Our 2026 Salary Guides
Delve into the expert insights from our specialist recruiter network to understand how the labour market is evolving around the world in 2026.
The Rise of the "Blended Workforce"
There has been a fundamental shift away from permanent-heavy hiring toward a hybrid workforce model. This, in turn, is enabling:
Agility: Organisations are maintaining lean permanent teams for core strategy while surrounding them with project-based, contingent talent.
Access to niche skills: In Hong Kong and Ireland, contracting is used to access highly specialised expertise that may be too scarce or expensive.
Mainstream adoption: What was once a temporary solution has become a strategic differentiator, now growing in sectors like technology.
A Focus on Skills-Based Hiring
The traditional vetting of resumes is being complemented by skills-based assessments and a focus on immediate ROI. This is to:
Combat AI noise: In Australia, the flood of AI-tailored resumes has forced employers to pivot toward skills alignment and cultural fit.
Enable transformation: Demand is focused on business-critical areas. If a role doesn't directly drive transformation, hiring is more selective.
Embed continuous learning: Employers are prioritising candidates who demonstrate a capacity for upskilling and long-term resilience.
A Shift Toward More Holistic Rewards
Salary is no longer the sole driver of talent acquisition. There is a global trend toward total reward packages that prioritise flexibility:
The flexibility baseline: In Canada and Ireland, hybrid work has become expected, creating a divide between enforced mandates and flexibility.
Wellbeing and security: Candidates in Hong Kong and Singapore are prioritising job security, work-life balance, and benefits over salary.
Targeted growth: Rises are becoming more reserved for specialists in high-impact areas, with clear career progression paths elsewhere.
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Frequently Asked Questions.
If you live in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mainland China, Japan, Singapore or the UK, you will find this listed in the FAQ section of these guides, linked above. The average salary can vary depending on the role, experience, sector, and location.
A salary guide is a comprehensive report that provides salary benchmarks, market trends, and compensation data for various job roles across different industries and locations. It is usually created by industry experts and recruitment specialists who analyse data from thousands of professionals to offer an up-to-date snapshot of the job market.
Hiring managers use salary guides to build competitive compensation packages, plan budgets, and improve employee retention. For professionals, it acts as an essential resource for determining market value and negotiating starting salaries or pay rises.
The benchmarks provided in Morgan McKinley’s salary guides are powered by proprietary market intelligence rather than generic or third-party surveys. To ensure the highest level of accuracy, we derive our figures from:
- Analysing thousands of job offers and placements managed by our offices over the past year
- On-the-ground intelligence from our recruitment consultants who work daily within these specific sectors and understand current demand
- Data from our annual surveys involving thousands of employers and professionals
This multi-layered approach ensures our data reflects the live market and gives an accurate representation of current compensation levels.
The annual salaries listed in the guide typically represent the base salary only. We focus on base salary to provide a consistent benchmark across different industries, as bonuses and benefits can vary significantly between companies.
However, for specific performance-driven roles (such as Sales), we recognise that variable pay is a core part of the compensation. Where possible, we have included both the base salary data and the data for on-target earnings (OTE).
