India has once again emerged as the most optimistic nation in terms of hiring intentions with 19 per cent of employers having positive recruitment plans for the next three months, even as economic slowdown continues to squeeze the global labour market.
According to the latest survey by global staffing services firm Manpower, India has an overall net employment outlook -- a measure of hiring plans by employers -- of 19 per cent for the July-September period, the most among the 34 countries surveyed.
The Manpower Employment Outlook showed that only 11 of the 34 countries have positive hiring plans, indicating the general gloom in the global job market in the wake of the tough economic scenario.
Manpower India managing director Naresh Malhan said 'the results for this quarter is encouraging as the rest of the world is suffering badly from the global economic downturn. The positive intent among Indian employers is translating into action and in fields like PSU better than other sectors'.
However, this is the weakest forecast ever in the last four years. The net employment outlook of 19 per cent is six percentage points weaker on a quarter-on-quarter basis and a whopping 24 points drop from the year-ago period.
Nearly 4,800 employers spread across 30 cities in the country took part in the survey, which was carried out in the middle of April.
"The fall in the net employment outlook, can be largely attributed to weaker demand in the services sector, while, the public administration and education sector are the only ones to report improved hiring plans on both a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year basis," Malhan said.
The Indian labour market has weathered the global economic slowdown much better than other economies, Malhan said, adding that India has been reporting the strongest hiring expectations globally since the third quarter of 2008.
A sector wise analysis shows public administration and education are the most optimistic sectors, with a net employment outlook of 33 per cent, while finance, insurance and real estate are the least bullish with a net employment outlook of 11 per cent.
There is clear shift of focus towards public sector jobs largely due to higher sense of security and growth opportunities, Malhan said.
Manpower further pointed out that the hiring pace is likely to improve in much of the Asia Pacific region as employers in five out of eight countries and territories surveyed across the region anticipate positive hiring activity for the third quarter.
Meanwhile, across the world, the net employment outlook for China was (+3 per cent), the United States (-2 per cent) and the United Kingdom (-6 per cent). The most optimistic employment forecasts after India are reported by employers in Norway (+10 per cent) and Poland (+9 per cent).
