Rakuten Insight has partnered with Reeracoen Group, a leading Asia-based recruitment and HR solutions provider, on a new regional study exploring how businesses and consumers across Southeast Asia are adapting to a shifting economic landscape.

The Great Restructuring: ASEAN Consumer & Business Pulse Survey 2026 surveyed 3,630 consumers and business leaders across six markets — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — in June 2026. The findings point to a region in transition: businesses are hiring more selectively, doubling down on operational efficiency and AI investment, while consumers respond to economic pressure by diversifying their income rather than simply cutting back.

Selective hiring, not slower hiring

Businesses across ASEAN are still hiring — just more deliberately. Between 32% and 47% of businesses across the six markets report hiring selectively, compared to only 7% to 16% that are actively expanding headcount. That gap tells a clear story: organisations are prioritising precision hiring and long-term capability building over broad workforce growth.

By market, the share of businesses hiring selectively breaks down as:

• • Indonesia: 47%
• • Vietnam: 47%
• • The Philippines: 39%
• • Malaysia: 36%
• • Thailand: 33%
• • Singapore: 32%

This same caution shows up in investment priorities. Operational efficiency is the top business growth priority across all six markets, cited by 35% to 43% of business leaders, while AI and technology investment ranks among the top three priorities everywhere, at 24% to 33%.

Six markets, six different growth stories

While the regional trend is toward selectivity and efficiency, each market is charting its own course:

• • Singapore leads the region in AI and technology investment intent, at 33%.
• • Indonesia tops the charts for business confidence (66%) and career mobility (29%).
• • Malaysia shows the strongest domestic market focus, at 75%.
• • The Philippines pairs resilient business confidence (65%) with notably cautious consumer spending (89%).
• • Thailand leads the region in investment growth, at 28%.
• • Vietnam posts the highest consumer optimism (48%) and the highest rate of hiring expansion (16%).

How consumers and workers are responding

Beyond hiring and investment decisions, the survey captures how individuals across the region are adapting their own financial and career strategies.

Income diversification has emerged as the preferred response to economic pressure in several markets. In Indonesia, 71% of consumers say they are seeking additional sources of income — the top financial action in the market — followed closely by 70% in the Philippines, where it also ranks first, ahead of saving or cutting spending.

AI is also starting to shape career decisions, most visibly in Vietnam, where 39% of consumers considering a career change cite AI and automation as a primary motivator — ahead of income growth and work-life balance. Vietnam is currently the only market in the study where technology ranks as the leading driver of career change.

Why this study matters

“Understanding both sides of the equation — what consumers feel and what businesses do — is essential. A consumer sentiment study alone would tell you that ASEAN is worried. A business survey alone would tell you that ASEAN is cautious. Together, they reveal something more important: ASEAN is adapting. That is the story this report exists to tell.”

— Cheryl Ng, Country Director, Singapore, Rakuten Insight

That combined lens — consumer sentiment paired with business behaviour — is what makes this study distinct, and it’s core to how Rakuten Insight approaches research across the region.

Get the full report

The full study includes country-by-country profiles for all six markets and a Leadership Playbook outlining eight strategic priorities for regional expansion.

Related articles: Singapore Study: Career Gaps & The Skill Imperative, Singapore workers preparedness for digital transformation, Singapore’s Gen Z prioritises income over free time

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