IT, outsourcing power India's job market

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's information technology and outsourcing industries led organized employment growth last fiscal, accounting for 70 per cent of the one million new jobs, despite protectionism in the developed world, official data showed Wednesday.

Overall employment increased by 979,000, with highest increase of 665,000 in information technology and business process outsourcing (BPO), followed by 111,000 in automobile sector, according to data released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Some 101,000 jobs were created in textiles sector including apparels, 88,000 in metals and 33,000 in leather sectors during the period under review.

Indian IT and outsourcing sectors continue to register impressive growth despite a series of anti-outsourcing measures taken by the US government. In a bid to discourage outsourcing, the US government last year hiked visa fees.

In January-March quarter, 287,000 employment was created in IT and BPO sector, followed by 16,000 increase in metals, 13,000 in automobile industry and 6,000 in the transport industry.

According to the 10th quarterly survey on "effect of economic slowdown on employment in India", overall 174,000 jobs were created in the fourth quarter of last fiscal. Though employment increased in most sectors, there were job losses in textiles industry.

An upward trend in employment has been continuously observed since July 2009.

The survey accesses the effect on employment in the eight selected sectors - textiles including apparels, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom and power loom.