Indian companies seventh most optimistic on hiring plans, says survey

Indian firms are the seventh most optimistic employers globally with 17 per cent bullish about their hiring plans over the next three months, says a survey.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for July-September period this year that covered 5,110 employers in India, noted that payrolls are expected to remain stable as compared to the last quarter.

The staffing major interviewed nearly 60,000 employers across 44 countries and territories and noted that Japan, Croatia, Hungary and Taiwan report the most optimistic forecasts, while Italy, Panama and Spain report the weakest ones.

According to the survey released on Tuesday by the firm, hiring prospects in India have improved by 1 percentage point when compared with the previous quarter, and by 2 percentage points when compared with the same period one year ago.

"New government initiatives coupled with investors' interest in start-ups is generating a growth trajectory in some sectors. Owing to the dynamics of a rapidly evolving business environment, contract staffing is taking precedence over the traditional workforce," said AG Rao, Group Managing Director of ManpowerGroup.

Sectorwise, the strongest hiring prospect is expected by wholesale and retail trade and services sectors with employers in both sectors reporting net employment outlooks of 20 per cent.

"Services, the key driver of India's economic growth, has been the dominant sector in India attracting foreign investment flows, contributing significantly to exports and therefore providing large-scale employment, Rao added.

Payrolls are expected to increase in all four regions during the coming quarter. North and South regions show the highest outlook of 18 per cent, south being the IT hub of India and north being the talent center.

"Major trends that will drive recruitment in 2018 in India are diversity, automated recruitment, virtual reality, remote working options among other. The HR industry is also trending towards a marketing approach to hiring to attract the right talent," Rao added.