Manufacturing, media, IT professionals least confident about future opportunities: Survey

Professionals working in IT, manufacturing, and media have reported low confidence towards job stability and career progression as companies in these industries buckle under the pressure of COVID-19, a survey said on Tuesday.

According to LinkedIn's second Workforce Confidence Index, one in four manufacturing professionals, more than one in five IT professionals, and more than two in five media professionals feel their companies will fare worse in the next six months, exhibiting a bleak outlook towards the short-term future.

However, the same industries are confident about strong long-term growth as 77 per cent of manufacturing professionals, 67 per cent of media professionals, and 65 per cent of IT professionals feel their companies will fare better in the next two years.

The Index, a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce, showed a slight dip in the overall confidence towards future opportunities with a composite score of (+) 51, two points less than last fortnight's score of (+) 53.

"A tough jobs market, pay cuts, and an ailing economy are suspected to have caused unrest amongst Indian professionals as findings show that one in three Indians have reported a decrease in their personal incomes, whereas 48 per cent of active job seekers and 43 per cent of full-time professionals anticipate fewer job openings in the next two weeks," the survey said.

As various sectors announce a hiring freeze, job-seekers have reset their expectations as more Indian professionals anticipate fewer job openings going forward. Findings support this by stating that 48 per cent of active job seekers think there will be a decrease in available job opportunities, up 9 per cent from last fortnight's findings.

Online learning continues to see a steady rise in demand as 67 per cent professionals (in comparison to 64 per cent professionals from last fortnight) will increase their time spent in online learning, while 37 per cent of Indian companies (in comparison to 31 per cent from last fortnight) will offer online resources to professionals in India.

The Workforce Confidence Index is a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce. It is based on an online survey of 2,254 members across two weeks: April 1-7 and April 13-19. It is a measure of how professionals feel about their job stability and access to opportunity as well as how business leaders expect to invest in their companies in the near and mid-term.