The Hindu Business Line : Outlook bright for Indian job market

Of the 27 countries and territories surveyed globally this quarter, the hiring intentions continue to be robust in India with an overall Net Employment Outlook of +42 per cent, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released here on Tuesday.

This outlook represents a moderate decrease of 5 percentage points since the fourth quarter of 2007, but a slight year-over-year increase of 3 percentage points.

Of the 5,163 employers surveyed, 43 per cent expect an increase in staffing levels in the first quarter of 2008, one per cent anticipates a decrease, and 45 per cent expect no change.

The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating total employment to increase and subtracting from this the percentage expecting to see a decrease in employment at their location over the next quarter.

Employers in all eight countries and territories surveyed across the Asia Pacific region anticipate positive hiring activity for the first quarter of 2008.

Commenting on the survey findings, Dr Naresh Malhan, Managing Director of Manpower India, said, “Employer hiring intentions are slightly more cautious in comparison to the previous quarter, but remain strong. The forecast pace of hiring across six of the seven industry sectors appears to have eased as organisations during this quarter tend to focus on planning and budgeting for the next fiscal year.”

The survey, conducted for the eleventh consecutive quarter in India, reports that employers across all seven industry sectors are positive about their hiring intentions.

Mining, construction

Employers in the mining and construction industry report the most optimistic outlook among all the seven industry sectors.

The survey revealed that in the first quarter hiring is expected to be positive in all of the 27 countries and territories surveyed, with employers in France, Italy and the Netherlands reporting their most optimistic hiring intentions since the survey began in these countries. In addition to India, the strongest first quarter hiring prospects reported globally were in Peru, Singapore, Argentina, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, South Africa, Australia, Japan and Norway.

Related Stories:
Employment outlook for Q4 dips
Job market to remain vibrant in Q3, says survey