Indian employers expect hiring to remain steady till April-June

THE STRONGEST HIRING PROSPECTS ARE REPORTED IN THE SERVICES SECTOR WHERE EMPLOYERS REPORT A NET EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK OF MORE THAN 22%.

Hiring activity in India is expected to remain steady in the coming months, as per a survey. Employers in only three other countries report more optimistic second-quarter hiring plans than those in India, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

However, the survey indicates that 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 making efforts to create jobs and making India a manufacturing hub. Budget 2017 is further expected to favour 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 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. 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,” said Rao.

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 more than 22%.

Healthy hiring activity is also predicted by employers in two sectors with outlooks of more than 21% – the public administration and education sector and the wholesale and retail trade sector.