The Hindu Business Line : Job market rosiest in the South: Survey

South India will see the highest number of recruitments in the country in the second quarter of 2006, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today.

The survey points to heightened hiring intentions among employers in India and forecasts resurgence of hiring in the second quarter.

In particular, employers in the South anticipate robust hiring intentions for the coming quarter with a Net Employment Outlook of (plus) 46 per cent, the highest among the four regions with West at 39 per cent, and North and East following closely at 37 per cent.

Of the over 1,200 employers surveyed in the South, 48 per cent felt there would be an increase in hiring tendencies and 2 per cent felt the opposite. While 39 per cent of the employers felt that there would be no change in the hiring intentions, 11 per cent were unsure about their hiring plans.

India continues to be very optimistic in the Asia Pacific region, the survey stated, with a positive overall Net Employment Outlook of (plus) 40 per cent, an increase of 13 percentage points over the previous quarter.

Mr Soumen Basu, Executive Chairman, Manpower India said, "The hiring intentions of Indian employers are far more bullish compared to the previous quarter which could be attributed to the beginning of the financial year and the continued business optimism."

Net Employment Outlook is derived by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating total employment to increase, from the percentage expecting a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter. The sectors covered include finance, insurance and real estate, manufacturing, mining and construction, public administration, education and others. The transportation and utilities sector emerged as the most optimistic with a positive Net Employment Outlook of (plus) 46 per cent, with the services sector close behind at a healthy (plus) 42 per cent.

Mr Basu said, "The steady quarter-over-quarter improvement in the hiring intentions of the transport and utilities sector can perhaps be attributed to the growth in the manufacturing and services sector. With the increase in the number of airlines that dot the Indian skies, this sector is likely to continue on this growth path."