Survey on Hiring Trends: Over 80% of Companies to Maintain or Increase '28 Graduate Hires

i-plug Inc. conducted a survey on hiring trends for '28 and '29 graduates among companies hiring new graduates. For '28 graduates, 29.6% plan to start activities in April-May 2026, with about 60% starting by July, showing an ongoing early hiring trend. Compared to '27 graduates, 33.7% will start earlier and 39.5% will keep the same schedule. Regarding hiring numbers for '28 graduates, 84.4% plan no changes and 8.7% plan to increase hires, indicating a proactive stance. For '29 graduates, schedules remain largely undecided, with 82.0% unsure about activity start dates and 82.6% unsure about job offer timings, as companies currently focus on '27 and '28 graduate hiring. The online survey ran from May 11-13, 2026, receiving 334 valid responses.