Hiring in Human Resources (Bangkok): Stricter hiring, but more regional roles and larger salary offers

In 2026, Thai businesses focused mainly on finding new ways to grow. They dealt with increasing use of sustainability practices, AI, and global manufacturing standards, while also facing challenges from US tariffs. Investment from groups like private equity firms supported local companies, and many industries were expected to grow over the next five years.

This led to some downsizing in the workforce. Layoffs and early retirements became more common as companies restructured or adopted automation. Ongoing cost pressures also meant employers were less tolerant of employees who did not meet expectations, says Rungnapa Charoenrungsiri, Senior Manager at Robert Walters Thailand.

At the same time, demand for talent shifted toward new businesses such as healthcare, where companies looked for “plug-and-play” candidates who could start work quickly. There was also a noticeable change in the talent market, with more Thai professionals open to working overseas, and more foreign professionals moving to Thailand or showing interest in working there.

New trends also emerged on the candidate front. Rungnapa finds that job seekers – especially senior-level candidates – faced stronger competition, taking longer time to find new roles. The Thai job market saw more interest from foreigners, while locals expressed more openness towards relocating abroad for work.

Read on to find out more about the labour market and hiring trends for Thailand’s Human Resources professionals in 2026.

Making every hire count

Hiring managers are expected to be more selective in the coming year. Rungnapa notes that employers will increasingly prefer candidates who already have experience in the same industry.

Cost concerns may mean smaller team sizes, but that does not mean salary packages are smaller. Professionals who can perform at a strategic level, while remaining willing to get hands-on with execution, are highly regarded on the market. Companies who find such talent will be willing to pay what is needed to get them onboard.

More regional roles are also expected in Thailand next year, as businesses offshore to benefit from lower labour costs.

Top roles and skills for 2026

The most in-demand roles in the 2026 hiring market are expected to be head of HRs or HR directors, HR managers, and HR business partner or TA managers. Employers will also place strong emphasis on soft skills such as stakeholder management, change management, and people management.

Professionals whose jobs revolve around process and document-based work, such as payroll or benefit administration, should be mindful that these tasks could be integrated with AI.

Rungnapa points out:

Once AI takes over these tasks, employees can submit documents to related stakeholders directly without any other human oversight.

“As such, my recommendation for these candidates is to enhance their employee engagement and communication skills. They could grow their careers towards becoming a champion or superuser, supporting other employees with using and adjusting AI to meet new needs.”

Candidates are open to new opportunities

At present, candidates are even open to switching industries entirely. Active job seekers are looking out for companies that value HR, and which have robust management, strong financial performance, and cultural fit. Even candidates with no push factor are passively open to opportunities with better compensation, work arrangements, career growth prospects, or exposure to new challenges.

According to Rungnapa, the top factors in talent attraction in today’s market are speed, the candidate experience from the offer stage, the hiring manager’s communication, and the onboarding process. Promising candidates get approached by other companies all the time, so companies need to create enticing pull factors to get talent across the line.

When it comes to retention, companies may have seen good results with vested stock options. However, Rungnapa points out that this alone is not sufficient for keeping talent onboard, and it’s just as important to provide praise and consistent communication around their career progression, well-being, and performance.

Salaries trend up

Rungnapa observes that companies are still willing to fork out generous offers to win talent, benchmarking salaries against market intelligence reports. Therefore, job movers can expect salary increments to fall between 15 – 25%. 

Find out more

Request access to our 2026 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in the Human Resources industry in Thailand.