Employer Confidence In India At Lowest Level Since 2005

• Indian employers expect steady hiring outlook for next three months, but their confidence has dipped amid uncertainties in global markets.
  
• The survey of 4,910 employers across India indicated that the hiring activity is expected to slow for the sixth consecutive quarter.
  
• The strongest labour market is forecast in the South, where the net employment outlook stood at 21 percent.
  

Indian employers expect steady hiring outlook for the next three months, but their confidence has dipped to the least optimistic level since 2005 amid uncertainties in global markets, says a report by ManpowerGroup.

Globally, the strongest third-quarter hiring plans were reported in Japan, Taiwan, Hungary, while India was ranked at the seventh place with a net employment outlook of just 14 percent.

“In the wake of uncertainties in global markets, employers in India are adopting a wait-and-watch policy. This is probably the reason we are not seeing them commit to the same optimistic hiring plans,” ManpowerGroup India Group Managing Director AG Rao said.

The survey of 4,910 employers across India indicated that the hiring activity is expected to slow for the sixth consecutive quarter.

Rao noted that technology has restructured the way the world functions and organisations are embracing these technologies based on changing business requirements.

Sector wise, hiring is primarily driven by wholesale and retail trade, transportation and utilities and services where employer hiring sentiment appears to be better.

While the most cautious outlook for the next three months was reported by manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, and mining and construction sectors.

The strongest labour market is forecast in the southern states, where the net employment outlook stood at 21 percent.

Employers in the northern region reported steady hiring intentions with an outlook of 15 percent, while outlooks of 10 percent and 9 percent were reported in the western and the eastern regions, respectively.

Meanwhile, an overview of the global results indicated that employer confidence is similar to that reported in the second quarter with the majority of respondents' content to either retain current staff or grow payrolls marginally as they await more definitive signals from the marketplace, the report added.

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