Employers in India anticipate measured hiring in next 3 months: Survey

New Delhi: Employers in India are anticipating a measured hiring pace in the next three months, as organisations are focused on investing in the professional development of their workforce and creating a positive work culture, a survey said on Tuesday.

According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey of nearly 3,020 employers across sectors and regions, hiring intentions have declined by 17 per cent when compared with the same time last year, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it has seen a marginal improvement of 1 per cent.

The Net Employment Outlook for the October-December quarter stood at 37 per cent, up 1 per cent from the July-September quarter of 2023, and decreased by 17 per cent when compared with the same time last year.

The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

Employers cited professional development (training, upskilling, and reskilling), positive work culture, and clear goals and objectives as the important drivers of increased workforce productivity, the survey said.

"The survey findings are clear indicators of a stable economy despite the geo-political and economic uncertainties being faced across the globe," Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India and Middle East, said.

"The government's unwavering focus and initiatives to drive growth in key sectors coupled with the onset of the festival season are expected to act as crucial reinforcements and boost the hiring sentiments across the country," Gulati said.

Region-wise, employers in the North (40 per cent) reported the strongest hiring intentions, followed by West (38 per cent), South (36 per cent), and East (34 per cent).

The IT and Tech sector continued to drive the market demand for talent with the highest net employment outlook of 44 per cent for the fourth consecutive quarter but weakened by 20 per cent when compared to the October-December quarter of 2022.

In the Asia Pacific region, India (37 per cent) and Singapore (36 per cent) reported the strongest outlooks in the region. The most cautious outlooks were reported by employers in Japan (11 per cent).

To overcome talent shortages, employers report being more willing to hire applicants who are older and seeking employment changes (34 per cent), have been unemployed due to caretaking responsibilities (27 per cent), have non-linear career paths (27 per cent), and/or have been long-term unemployed (26 per cent).

"With the changing landscape of the world of work, organisations that are focused on investing in the professional development of their workforce and creating a positive work culture are better equipped to accelerate the transformation and build resilience to combat the market volatility," Gulati said.