India Inc plans to hire more manpower

New Delhi: Bolstered by improving business sentiments, Indian employers have the strongest hiring plans worldwide for the next three months as they are expected to embark on “vigorous” recruitment activities, says a report.

The manpower employment outlook survey released on Tuesday also said that hiring activities are picking up in some sectors on the hopes of “business sentiment turning positive in anticipation of a stable government coming to the helm”.

Going by the findings of the survey of 5,389 employers, they anticipate a vigorous hiring pace for July-September period. The hiring outlook is projected at 46 per cent higher over last year.

“The strongest hiring plans across the globe are reported by employers in India, Taiwan, Turkey, New Zealand and Singapore. The weakest-and only negative-third-quarter forecasts are reported by employers in Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands,” the report said.

As per the findings by HR services firm Manpower, employers in the public administration and education followed by wholesale & retail trade sectors have the most optimistic hiring plans. Their net employment outlook for the next three months is pegged to grow at 53 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.

“With the Indian business environment showing signs of improvement, companies are back in hiring mode. Opportunities for job seekers are expected to grow even stronger as emphasis is placed on improving business growth and employment generation,” Manpower Group India Group managing director A.G. Rao said.

Positive hiring trends are expected in all the geographical regions, with employers in the North and South reporting strongest outlook.

“The strongest labour market is expected in the North where the outlook stands at +53 per cent. Bullish hiring intentions are also evident in Outlooks of +48 per cent and +46 per cent for the south and the West, respectively,” the report said.

In the East, employers anticipate prosperous hiring activity with an Outlook of +31 per cent.

Besides, employers across the country are also expecting to see increase in payrolls during third quarter this year, the report said.

Meanwhile, staffing levels are expected to increase in 37 of the 42 countries and territories, compared with 38 of 42 in the second quarter.

Globally, other than India, the strongest hiring plans are reported by employers in Taiwan, Turkey, New Zealand and Singapore.

“The weakest-and only negative-third-quarter forecasts are reported by employers in Italy, Belgium, and France,” the Manpower report said.