Hiring in India set to pick up after 3 quarters of decline: ManpowerGroup
2 min read 12 Sep 2017, 03:59 AM ISTNet employment outlook for October-December 2017 stands at 19%, a five-point rise from the third quarter but far from 32% of the 4th quarter of 2016, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
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New Delhi: After three consecutive quarters of sluggishness, hiring will start growing in the October-December quarter but at a much slower pace compared with the same period last year, a survey by staffing company ManpowerGroup showed.
The net employment outlook for the fourth quarter (October-December) stands at 19%, a five percentage point rise from the third quarter, but far from 32% of the fourth quarter of 2016, according to findings of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey that were shared exclusively with Mint on Tuesday.
The net employment outlook is the difference in percentage of employers expecting to see a decrease in employment and the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity.
“In the coming quarter, the situation looks more promising owing to the festive season during which firms require additional staff to handle the spike in orders and deliveries. The demand is especially high for e-commerce companies, logistics, FMCG, hospitality, retail, supply chain, and transport," said A.G. Rao, group managing director at ManpowerGroup India.
The survey of 5,005 employers across India showed positive hiring intentions in all seven industry sectors and all four regions for the upcoming quarter, with employers in north India reporting the strongest hiring outlook.
On 13 June, Mint reported hiring in India was at a 12-year low in the July-September quarter.
Up by a considerable eight percentage points at 23%, the services sector reported the strongest hiring outlook in the fourth quarter.
This is followed by transportation and utilities sector (20%), mining and construction sector (19%), public administration and education sector (18%), wholesale and retail trade sector (17%), manufacturing sector (14%), and the finance, insurance and real estate sector (12%), the survey showed.
Employers in six of the seven industry sectors have reported slower hiring plans when compared with the same quarter last year.
Wholesale and retail trade sector employers reported a 19 percentage points drop in hiring intentions, while manufacturing, and the finance, insurance and real estate sector shows a decrease by 15 and 13 percentage points, respectively, and hiring intentions in services sector has dropped by 12 percentage points y-o-y.
“While we foresee a lesser spike in the growth trajectory of hiring as compared to last year, there have already been positive shifts suggesting a favourable employment creation ecosystem in the coming few months in the country… automation in the IT sector is expected to propel intake for high-skill jobs as it can create new positions," Rao said.
However, except for public administration and education and wholesale and retail trade sectors, the hiring outlook has strengthened in all other five industry sectors, when compared with the last quarter.
“Fourth-quarter forecasts are mostly positive with employers in 42 of 43 countries and territories expecting workforces to grow by varying margins over the next three months. Only employers in Switzerland forecast a flat fourth-quarter hiring pace," the survey said.
