Employment Outlook: July-September hiring outlook at 8-year high

Job creation is likely to see a strong boost in the upcoming September quarter, with employers reporting the most optimistic hiring outlook in eight years, as companies look to speed up the post-pandemic recovery process and sustain growth, despite rising inflation.

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, shared exclusively with ET, about 63% of 3,080 employers said they will hire more in the coming quarter, while 12% see decrease in hiring intent and 24% expect to keep workforce levels steady. Only 1% were unsure about hiring intentions. This puts net employment outlook – the difference between companies looking to hire and those expecting a fall in headcount or hiring numbers – at 51%.

When compared with the same period last year, hiring sentiment has improved by 46 percentage points. There is a 13-pp growth from the preceding quarter. Hiring markets in India are ranked first in the region and third globally. India’s on-year increase is ranked first globally, outperforming the 40-country average increase since the third quarter of 2021 by 28 points.

“Overall, there has been an optimistic outlook across sectors and industries,” said Sandeep Gulati, managing director, ManpowerGroup India. “As always, the IT-ITeS sector is taking the lead in job market growth. Digitisation and automation are driving the need for IT specialists across the board.”

Infra Focus Helping

A payroll increase is forecast for all 11 industry sectors in the coming quarter. Companies in the IT, technology, telecom and media sectors report the strongest hiring outlook of 68%, followed by banking, finance, insurance and real estate (60%). Hiring forecast is least optimistic in the primary production and not-for-profit sectors, with a net employment outlook of 25% and 35%, respectively. Employers in all four regions expect payroll expansion in the first quarter of 2022. The net employment outlook for the north, west and south stands at 53% while for the east, it’s 41%.

Talent Gap

Amid the hiring optimism, employers are faced with an unprecedented demand-supply gap, as indicated by the Manpower Talent Shortage Survey. Across sectors, companies are facing a challenge finding the people they need with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths. Global talent shortages have reached a 16-year high as 75% employers report difficulty in finding the talent they need. In India, the problem is worse – 83% of employers surveyed are finding it difficult to fill open positions. The top five soft skills that organisations have difficulty finding include creativity and originality; critical thinking and analysis; reasoning and problem solving; leadership and social influence; and taking initiative.