Manpower Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS) conducted for the fifth consecutive year in India along with 33 countries globally reported that companies in India at 19% showed the highest intent to add headcount during Q3 2009. Of the 34 countries surveyed, 11 showed a positive intent to hire and 22 showed a negative intent and one showed no intent. However on a relative basis, the India recruitment story is not as optimistic with this being the lowest performance in terms of intent to hire shown by Indian companies during the start of the quarterly survey in 2005. While 19% of the 4500 employers across seven sectors surveyed said that they would add more headcount in the ensuing quarter, 25% had expressed the same intent in Q1 and 43% had expressed this intent during the corresponding period last year.
For the first time, public administration & education, wholesale & retail, and mining & construction were the sectors that showed the highest intent to hire in India at 33%, 21% and 21% respectively. Reasons these sectors are attractive employers is also because of the job security offered by public administration companies, increasing footprint being made by wholesale and retail companies in tier two and three cities and investment focus of mining and construction companies. While traditionally finance, insurance, real estate have been the strongest sectors in intent to hire in India, this quarter at 11% these sectors revealed the lowest intent to hire.
Speaking to FE, Naresh Malhan, Managing Director, Manpower India noted, ?The results of this survey reveal the on the ground market sentiment and intent. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted during April and beginning of May this year when election results were not yet out so it is unlikely that the survey responses were influenced by election results.
Sentiment as a result of the outcome of election results will only show in the Q4 employment outlook survey?. During the five-year period that Manpower has been conducting the survey in India Q1 2008 showed the most positive outlook with 48% of companies expressing intent to hire. Q3 2005, the first quarter the survey was conducted in India had a score of 35%.