Are Indian companies still high on hiring?

Despite weaker forecast, employers in India remain among the most optimistic, according to a Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Though moving at a slower pace, the employers now report the second strongest hiring intentions globally, with a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 19 per cent. However, this Outlook represents a considerable decrease of 24 percentage points quarter-over-quarter and 27 percentage point’s year-over-year, the survey finds out.

Of the 33 countries and territories surveyed globally this quarter, employers in Peru are the most optimistic, with an NEO of 24 per cent. The NEO 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.

“Though hiring intentions remain positive, Indian employers are reporting a much slower hiring pace, compared to the last quarter and year, says Manpower India MD Naresh Malhan. Employers in all the seven industry sectors and four regions have reported considerable decline in anticipated hiring activity for the first quarter of the New Year, its weakest since Q3 2005.

“The times may seem challenging, but the employment scenario in the country is not as gloomy as the rest of the world, and according to the survey, India will be one of the actively hiring nations for Q1 of 2009.”

Hiring-confidence of employers in India is the strongest of all the eight countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region for the first quarter of 2009. Of the 3,557 employers surveyed, 22 per cent expect an increase in staffing levels in the quarter, 4 per cent anticipate a decrease, and 63 per cent are expecting no change.

Employers in mining & construction sector, for the third consecutive quarter, reported the most optimistic hiring intentions with an NEO of 23 per cent, though the Outlook shows a steep decline in employer hiring-confidence of 31 and 30 percentage points quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, respectively.

Employers in services sector and mining & construction sector are expecting the most active hiring environment in the coming quarter with a Net Employment Outlook of 23 per cent.

Wholesale & retail trade employers reported the least optimistic hiring intentions with a Net Employment Outlook of 11 per cent.


Source: Times of India