Bengaluru, which used to be among the most positive city in employment outlook till a few quarters ago, has this time been reported as the worst-affected city in terms of employment as well as business outlook for the January-March 2013 quarter.

The employment outlook report, by staffing solutions company TeamLease Services and Indian Institute of Job Training, doesn't make for a happy reading.

According to the report, based on interviews with HR managers of 640 companies, both net employment and business outlook have registered a 2 point and 1 point drop, respectively in their indexes respectively, indicating stagnant hiring outlook in the forthcoming quarter.

On the functional front, engineering and IT seem to be bearing the brunt of the contraction. However, sales, marketing and blue collar will be the most sought-after functions over the next three months.

From a sectoral perspective, with the exception of infrastructure, IT & ITeS, the employment outlook seems flat across most sectors.