Indian employers’ hiring intentions most optimistic: ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey

MUMBAI: According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released by ManpowerGroup, the survey of 4,389 employers across India indicates that the hiring activity is expected to remain steady.

In fact, employers in only three other countries report more optimistic second-quarter hiring plans than those in India. However, India’s Net Employment Outlook has now dipped by varying margins for five consecutive quarters, and opportunities for job seekers are expected to be considerably weaker than they were a year ago, at this time.

AG Rao, Group Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India said, “The hiring outlook will move at a slow but steady pace as the Indian companies gauge the impact of the ongoing global slowdown compounded by automation in the IT sector and talent scarcity for niche skills. However, there will be great demand for high- skill jobs for the new positions created by automation. The government is putting efforts towards creating jobs and making India a manufacturing hub. Budget 2017 is further expected to favor more foreign investments in India and initiatives like 'Make in India' should drive global companies to set-up manufacturing facilities in India.

“Today companies are moving towards artificial intelligence & are best utilizing technology to drive innovation in order to support the successful integration of new technology. In the current employment scenario, job-seekers need to up-skill and diversify into new areas. Skills adjacency, agility and learnability — all of these characteristics are crucial to demonstrating the desire and ability to learn new skills to become and stay employable throughout long career journeys,” added Rao.

Sectoral Trends

Workforce gains are anticipated in all seven industry sectors during the coming quarter. The strongest hiring prospects are reported in the Services sector where employers report a Net Employment Outlook of +22%. Healthy hiring activity is also forecast by employers in two sectors with Outlooks of +21% – the Public Administration & Education sector and the Wholesale & Retail Trade sector. Manufacturing sector employers expect steady payroll gains, reporting an Outlook of +16%, while Outlooks of +15% are reported in both the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector and the Mining & Construction sector. Meanwhile, Transportation & Utilities sector employers report the most cautious Outlook of +10%.

MUMBAI: According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released by ManpowerGroup, the survey of 4,389 employers across India indicates that the hiring activity is expected to remain steady.

In fact, employers in only three other countries report more optimistic second-quarter hiring plans than those in India. However, India’s Net Employment Outlook has now dipped by varying margins for five consecutive quarters, and opportunities for job seekers are expected to be considerably weaker than they were a year ago, at this time.

AG Rao, Group Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India said, “The hiring outlook will move at a slow but steady pace as the Indian companies gauge the impact of the ongoing global slowdown compounded by automation in the IT sector and talent scarcity for niche skills. However, there will be great demand for high- skill jobs for the new positions created by automation. The government is putting efforts towards creating jobs and making India a manufacturing hub. Budget 2017 is further expected to favor more foreign investments in India and initiatives like 'Make in India' should drive global companies to set-up manufacturing facilities in India.

“Today companies are moving towards artificial intelligence & are best utilizing technology to drive innovation in order to support the successful integration of new technology. In the current employment scenario, job-seekers need to up-skill and diversify into new areas. Skills adjacency, agility and learnability — all of these characteristics are crucial to demonstrating the desire and ability to learn new skills to become and stay employable throughout long career journeys,” added Rao.

Sectoral Trends

Workforce gains are anticipated in all seven industry sectors during the coming quarter. The strongest hiring prospects are reported in the Services sector where employers report a Net Employment Outlook of +22%. Healthy hiring activity is also forecast by employers in two sectors with Outlooks of +21% – the Public Administration & Education sector and the Wholesale & Retail Trade sector. Manufacturing sector employers expect steady payroll gains, reporting an Outlook of +16%, while Outlooks of +15% are reported in both the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector and the Mining & Construction sector. Meanwhile, Transportation & Utilities sector employers report the most cautious Outlook of +10%.

Global Trends

ManpowerGroup’s second-quarter research reveals that employers in 39 of 43 countries and territories intend to add to their payrolls by varying degrees in the April-June time frame.  Overall, opportunities for job seekers are expected to remain similar to those available in the first three months of 2017, with employers in most countries and territories signaling that they are content to either maintain current staffing levels or engage in modest levels of payroll growth while they monitor ongoing developments in the marketplace.