Corporate India is poised for robust hiring over the next three months, outshining its global counterparts, with an impressive 37% of employers expressing plans to expand their workforce, buoyed by a surge in domestic demand. This optimistic outlook emerges from the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, which involved close to 3,100 employers across various sectors and regions. Notably, India’s Net Employment Outlook (NEO) stands as the highest among 41 countries surveyed.
For the January-March 2024 period, the NEO, calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating reductions from those planning to hire, registers at a substantial 37%. This figure marks a 5% increase from the same period in 2023 and remains consistent with the previous quarter.
Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of Manpower Group India and Middle East, attributes this positive outlook to the buoyancy in domestic demand and sustained inflow of private investments. He notes India’s status as a lucrative economy, emphasizing stability in the political arena and portraying a progressive India as a tangible reality.
Breaking down the sectors, Financials and Real Estate lead the hiring charge with a robust outlook of 45%, closely followed by Information Technology at 44%, and Consumer Goods and Services at 42%. However, the Energy and Utilities sector exhibits the least optimistic prospects with a 28% outlook for the first quarter.
Geographically, the western region of India emerges as a job hotspot with a dominant outlook of 39%, closely trailed by the northern region at 38%. Conversely, the eastern region reports the weakest hiring intentions.
The survey sheds light on the challenges faced by employers, with 81% in India struggling to find skilled talent, indicating a 1% increase from the previous year’s survey. Sectors such as Transport, Logistics, and Automotive experience the most significant impact, closely followed by the Information Technology sector.
Sandeep Gulati interprets the survey findings as reflective of the evolving nature of work, where companies are undergoing transformational phases, and there is a scarcity of IT talent with the desired skill sets. To address these challenges, employers are adapting their strategies by offering increased work flexibility, elevating wages, actively seeking new talent, and accommodating shifts in the recruitment landscape.
The survey also identifies the top five most in-demand skills sought by employers, encompassing IT & Data, Sales & Marketing, Engineering, Operations & Logistics, and HR. This detailed overview captures the multifaceted dynamics of the Indian job market, where optimism prevails amid challenges, and strategies are evolving to meet the demands of a changing workforce landscape.
