Companies are ready to hire again, PwC’s 2025 Global CEO Survey found.
Moving forward, 60% of chief executive officers anticipate growth over the next year, a figure that is up from 38% last year and 18% two years ago.
According to the 28th annual PwC report, nearly half of CEOs expect to increase their headcount in 2025. About 17% expect to reduce staff.
The survey from PwC, released at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, surveyed nearly 5,000 CEOs from a range of countries including Canada.
“This year’s CEO Survey findings highlight a stark juxtaposition,” stated Mohamed Kande, Global Chairman of PwC. “Business leaders around the world are optimistic about the year ahead, but also know they must reinvent how they create, deliver, and capture value.”
PwC’s report found that generative AI is disruptive, but CEOs using AI are more likely to see headcount increases (17%) than decreases (13%) from leveraging the technology.
More than half reported seeing efficiency gains in their employees, and one-third saw revenue increases.
“Emerging technologies such as GenAI . . . are revolutionizing how the economy works,” Kande said. “New business ecosystems are forming, transforming how companies compete and create value. To thrive, business leaders must act now and take bold decisions around their strategy —ranging from people, footprint and supply chain, right through to reinventing their business model.”
Matt Wood, Commercial Technology & Innovation Officer at PwC, says this year’s survey “shows a more mature view of GenAI in the enterprise.”
“CEOs are convinced it has the power to unlock new opportunities,” he says. “In fact, they are more optimistic than last year.”
At the same time, “they are more aware of the challenges they need to navigate to realise that value,” he explains. “They see the importance of building trust into the way their AI systems are designed, and for now are prioritizing integration into core business processes.”
“It is important that they also see the potential GenAI has to generate growth through new products and services and create value in new ways,” Wood said.
Overall, the report concludes that leaders are facing the future with a combination of optimism about the economy and realism that business “needs to fundamentally reinvent how it creates value if it is to thrive in the future.”
Canada will have to hustle to ride this global trend, however. A separate report from PwC did single out Canada for its low productivity growth, describing the nation as growing at a “slow pace” relative “to those of most developed countries.”
This lag risks “significant implications for economic growth, standard of living, and global competitiveness,” PwC warned—one example being our ongoing brain drain crisis.
