Hiring sentiments in India for the January-March quarter of 2018, seem to have slightly improved over the previous quarter, but unchanged over the first quarter of 2017, with 24 per cent of employers forecasting they will be adding jobs in the coming quarter, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
According to the survey, which was conducted among 4,905 employers across the country, 3 per cent of the employers expect a decrease, while 57 per cent anticipate no change in staffing levels in the first quarter of 2018.
“The net employment outlook is 21 per cent. Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the outlook stands at 22 per cent. Hiring plans are 2 percentage points stronger when compared with the previous quarter and unchanged when compared with the first quarter of 2017,” the ManpowerGroup said in its survey published on Tuesday.
India was the third most optimistic, after Taiwan and Japan, when it came to hiring sentiments, among 43 companies surveyed by ManpowerGroup.
The survey showed that small employers (10-49 employees) were among the most optimistic, with a net employment outlook of 23 per cent (31 per cent when seasonally adjusted), while the outlook for medium (50-249 employees) and large businesses (over 250 employees) stood at 18 per cent and 22 per cent (seasonally adjusted 20 per cent and 21 per cent) respectively.
“Small employers report an improvement of 13 percentage points when compared with the previous quarter, while outlooks for the medium and large-size categories remain relatively stable,” the Manpower survey added.
The job market outlook looked positive in the wake of a rebound in the Indian economy and continued ongoing measures to encourage industries to expand their operations, apart from various skills development initiatives, said A.G. Rao, group managing director at ManpowerGroup India.
“As the Indian economy maintains its escalating growth trajectory, the job market looks positive. Despite the market volatilities, India's macroeconomic fundamentals have improved...There are continuous ongoing measures to encourage industries to expand their operations, which in turn will help boost the job market,” said Rao.
The survey pointed that work force addition was expected across all the sectors of the industry in the coming quarter, with services sector reporting the strongest net employment outlook of 27 per cent.
When compared, quarter-on-quarter, employers in other sectors like mining and construction, manufacturing, and the transportation and utilities too had upbeat hiring plans with a net employment outlook of 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
“This environment is conducive for employees who showcase high learnability and the ability to re-skill themselves rapidly,” added Rao.
Globally, ManpowerGroup interviewed close to 59,000 employers across 43 countries and work force gains were forecasted for 41 of the 43 countries, in varying margins.
