1 in 4 Indian employers uncertain about Q4 hiring

One in every four Indian employers is uncertain about their hiring plans during the fourth quarter of 2011, says a report by global staffing services firm Manpower.

Nevertheless, India has one of the most bullish employment outlooks across the globe, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released on Tuesday.

India's net employment outlook -- an indicator of recruitment intentions -- stood at 30 per cent for the October-December quarter of 2011, the strongest in the 41 countries and territories surveyed, but is likely to witness the slowest pace of hiring since the first quarter of 2010, as per the survey.

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"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 they reported at the beginning of 2011," Manpower India managing director Sanjay Pandit said.

Pandit further said though the hiring forecast in India still remains one of the most optimistic across the globe, 'one in every four employers is uncertain about their hiring plans for the last quarter of the year -- an unusually high percentage when compared to past quarters.'

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The report further said though all seven industry sectors and all four regions of India have positive hiring plans for the fourth quarter of 2011, the employment outlook for all sectors has declined vis-a-vis the previous quarter.

Job seekers in the services sector have the most bullish hiring plans, with a net employment outlook of 37 per cent for the last quarter of 2011.

However, the sector's outlook was down by 10 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

Similarly, in the manufacturing sector, the net employment outlook stood at 32 per cent for Q4 of the 2011 calendar year, 12 percentage points lower compared to the previous quarter.

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The weakest hiring outlook was seen in the public administration and education sector (16 per cent), the report said.

A zonal-wise analysis shows that hiring activity has declined quarter-on-quarter among employers in three out of four Indian regions.

Employers in the southern region have the strongest hiring expectations for the fourth quarter, with a net employment outlook of 42 per cent, unchanged when compared to the previous quarter.

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However, the forecast in the eastern region (39 per cent) was 7 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter, while the northern region's (31 per cent) net employment outlook fell by 17 percentage points in comparison to the previous quarter.

Employers in the western region (25 per cent) reported the weakest hiring plans, with the net employment outlook declining by 19 percentage points vis-a-vis the previous quarter.

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The report further said that hiring expectations were positive in 36 out of the 41 countries and territories where the survey was conducted and besides India, bright prospects were reported by employers in Taiwan (with a net employment outlook of 37 per cent) and Singapore (30 per cent).

Hiring intentions for the final quarter of 2011 were the strongest in Brazil, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Panama, New Zealand, Colombia and Hong Kong and the weakest in Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain, Manpower said.

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In the Europe, West Asia and Africa region, positive hiring activity was expected in 18 of the 23 countries surveyed.

Across the 10 countries Manpower surveys in the Americas, employer hiring plans remain positive in all countries, the survey said, adding that 'employer hiring expectations are the strongest in Brazil and the weakest in the US, where job seekers should expect to see limited hiring activity in the final quarter of 2011'.