India Inc will step up hiring next quarter: Survey

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India Inc is all set to step up hiring in the last quarter this fiscal as employers are more optimistic than their counterparts in other nations, said an industry survey released Tuesday.

"Brisk hiring is anticipated by Indian employers during the upcoming quarter," said the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

"With 38 percent of employers expecting total employment to increase, 2 per cent forecasting a decrease and 53 per cent predicting no change, the net employment outlook is a robust 36 per cent," it added.

"Once seasonal adjustment is added to the data, the outlook stands at 39 per cent."

The services sector is the most bullish on hiring followed by public administration, education, mining and construction, finance, retail and manufacturing.

"India has been reporting the strongest hiring expectations globally since the third quarter of 2008," said Naresh Malhan, managing director of Manpower India.

"The good news is that employer hiring expectations across all industry sectors are improving in the first quarter of 2010, and job seekers in key sectors can look forward to the most favourable hiring environment in over a year," he added.

India's employment outlook in January-March is better than bigger economies including Australia at 19 percent, Canada at 13 per cent, China at 11 per cent, and the US at 6 percent.

The survey was conducted in 35 countries and regions including the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa among 71,000 employers. Employers in 25 of such territories surveyed are reporting positive hiring intentions for the next quarter.

Hiring in the next three months is expected to return to the pre-recession pace throughout much of the Asia Pacific region while job prospects continue to slowly improve in the Americas and in parts of Europe.

Hiring expectations are strongest in India, Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Australia, Peru and Hong Kong and weakest in Ireland, Romania, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.

In the 18 countries surveyed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, hiring expectations are mixed, with employers in nine countries reporting positive activity for the quarter ahead.

©IANS