New Delhi: Indian employers are the fourth-most optimistic globally about hiring plans for the next three months but opportunities for job seekers are likely to be fewer than last year, says a survey.

According to ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released on Tuesday by ManpowerGroup, the sample size of 4,389 employers across India noted that a net 18% of employers are anticipating an actual rise in their staffing numbers.

India’s Net Employment Outlook has now dipped by varying margins for five consecutive quarters. Globally, the most optimistic hiring plans were reported by Taiwan where 24% employers are bullish about their recruitment plans, followed by Japan (23%) and Slovenia (22%) in the second and third positions, respectively.

“The hiring outlook will move at a slow but steady pace as 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," ManpowerGroup India Group managing director A. G. Rao said.

Rao added, “Today companies are moving towards artificial intelligence and are best utilising 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."

As per the survey, workforce gains are anticipated in all seven industry sectors during the coming quarter and strongest hiring prospects are reported in the services sector where employers report a net employment outlook of 22%.

However, when compared to the year-ago period, hiring outlook has declined in all seven industry sectors. Region-wise, the strongest labour market forecast was for the South, where net employment outlook is 29%.

Steady payroll gains are also expected in the North and the West, with hiring outlooks of 18% and 15%, while the outlook for the East stood at 12%. Globally, 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 signalling 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.

As per the global survey of over 59,000 employers, companies in 39 of 43 countries and territories intend to add to their payrolls by varying degrees in the April-June time frame.

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