India's job market outlook strong for Q3; 54% companies plan to hire: Survey

India's hiring outlook remains strong with 54 per cent of companies planning to hire in next three months amid predictions of growth opportunities for developing countries in the wake of ongoing geopolitical conflicts, says a survey.

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released on Tuesday, the labour market is indicating strong sentiments for October-December 2022.

The survey is based on interviews with more than 40,600 public and private employers across 41 countries and territories to measure anticipated employment trends each quarter.

This sample allows for analysis to be performed across specific sectors and regions to provide more detailed information.

As per the survey, in India, 64 per cent expect to increase their staffing levels, 10 per cent anticipate a decrease in hiring intent and 24 per cent do not anticipate any change, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 54 per cent.

The hiring outlook in India is ranked second globally, after Brazil where 56 per cent expect to increase their staffing levels.

When compared to the same period last year, hiring sentiments have improved by 10 percentage points, while there is a 3 percentage points growth when compared to the last quarter, the survey said.

"India's deep-rooted fundamentals are healthy and robust. Despite the short-term setbacks, growth enhancing policies, increased investment in infrastructure, rising exports etc will nullify the impact in the mid and long-term," said Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India.

"Externally, the current global geopolitical tailwinds are expected to aid the growth of developing countries like India as predicted by many experts. However, this is also impacting our IT sector adversely with employers treading on a cautious path amid speculations of a global slowdown," Gulati said.

Despite strong optimism to hire, the industry faces a talent shortage where 85 per cent of employers report difficulty finding the hard and soft skills needed, as per the Talent Shortage Survey carried out in the third quarter of 2022.

"Priority focus on soft skills coupled with an analytical approach and technical skill sets is making it more and more difficult for employers to match talent to the available opportunities. Universities and educational institutes need to realign their curriculum to the needs of the job market thereby providing increased employable youths to corporate India," Gulati said.

Employers in all four regions expect to grow payrolls during the fourth quarter of 2022. Employers in two regions (North and South) showed equally strong pace with a Net Employment Outlook of 56 per cent, whereas the outlook for West stands at 53 per cent and East at 47 per cent.

An increase in payrolls is forecast for all eleven industry sectors during the coming quarter. The IT and technology sector continues to report strong hiring intentions with a Net Employment Outlook of 63 per cent, followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (61 per cent).

Globally, when considering how staffing levels will change during the fourth quarter, employers in 39 of 41 countries and territories anticipate a net positive hiring outlook.

Hiring sentiment weakened in 23 countries and territories compared to last quarter. In 16 countries and territories, the hiring outlook has strengthened since the previous quarter, the survey said.