40% workforce anticipates fewer jobs, major cut down in spending: LinkedIn

Two in five or 40 per cent professionals believe that the number of jobs and scheduled interviews will decrease in the next two weeks, according to the fifth edition of LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index. 

The fortnightly index pointed that while India’s overall confidence remains steady, the country’s confidence in jobs is beginning to trend downward. The report also states that professionals from healthcare, manufacturing, and corporate service industries are more likely to anticipate a decrease in personal spending and personal investments in the next six months.

However, employees at large enterprises (firms with over 10,000 workers) are more confident about the future of their employers when compared to their peers from mid-market and SMB companies.

The findings showed that 41 per cent of enterprise professionals think their companies will do better in the next six months, while 63 per cent think their companies will be better off one year from now.  52 per cent of healthcare, 48 per cent of corporate services, and 41 per cent of manufacturing professionals anticipate a decrease in investments in the next 6 months.

The report also states that professionals from healthcare, manufacturing, and corporate service industries are more likely to anticipate a decrease in personal spending.

Over the past three months, many organizations have shifted to a remote working model to circumvent the pandemic and ensure business continuity.

Three in five marketing professionals feel confident about being effective when working remotely, joined by more than half of project management and engineering professionals, who are also confident about the effectiveness of remote working. In contrast to this optimism, only 39 per cent of human resources, 36 per cent of finance and 31 per cent of education professionals think they will be effective when working remotely.

The report comes as bittersweet for Indian professionals, as more than 1 in 3  Indian professionals state that they will now spend more time working on their resumes and preparing for interviews. Findings also show India’s consistent focus on upskilling as 67% of the Indian workforce state that they will continue to increase time spent online learning.

Based on survey responses of 2,903 professionals during May 4 to 31 the survey comes at a time when India is beginning to 'unlock' and reboot its business landscape.