BackIndian employers are optimistic on hiring
Indian employers are optimistic on hiring
PremiumSeeking employment: A file photo of a job fair conducted by the ministry of labour and employment in Bangalore. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Delhi/New York: Employment prospects deteriorated in India as employers in the services industry anticipate weaker demand from offshore clients, but Indian firms remained the most optimistic in the world in terms of their ability to hire people in the three months beginning July (the third quarter of the calendar year and the second for most Indian companies, which close their books in March).
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cd7b10d8-550c-11de-a8d0-000b5dabf636.flvThe optimism is reflected in an index that measures the difference between employers who plan to add jobs and those who expect to cut them and which has become a forward-looking measure of hiring expectations. The measure held steady in the US and other large economies amid signs employment is starting to stabilize, but prospects in several countries worsened. The index is calculated every quarter by staffing services firm Manpower Inc.
The company said its seasonally adjusted US net employment outlook remained at minus two for the third quarter, unchanged from the second quarter but down from a reading of 12 a year ago. “Overall, it’s pointing to some real stability, which is massively important," Manpower chief executive Jeff Joerres said, adding that Friday’s US jobs report also hinted at stability.
Last week, the US government reported the loss of 345,000 jobs outside the farm sector in May, the fewest cuts since September, with the unemployment rate jumping to 9.4%. The job cuts were smaller than economists expected.
India’s net employment outlook was 19, the highest among the 34 countries surveyed. The outlook was positive in only 11 countries. Manpower India managing director Naresh Malhan said: “The results for this quarter is encouraging as the rest of the world is suffering badly from the global economic downturn. The positive intent among Indian employers is translating into action."
Still, the number is lower than the net employment outlook of 25 for the quarter beginning April and 43 for the quarter beginning July 2008.
Around 4,800 employers across 30 Indian cities took part in the survey, which was carried out in mid-April.
State-owned firms and those in the business of education were the most optimistic in India with a net employment outlook of 33. Companies in the businesses of finance, insurance and real estate were the least optimistic with a net employment outlook of 11.
Employers in other large labour markets—including the UK, Japan and China—also indicated stable hiring outlooks, while those in Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia said prospects are better than in the second quarter. But the employment outlook worsened slightly in Canada and some large European labour markets.
Joerres said it was too early to say if world labour markets would stage a synchronized recovery, and too soon to predict the shape of any recovery.
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