Indian companies most optimistic globally on hiring plans

New Delhi: Indian companies have remained the most optimistic globally on hiring plans for the fourth consecutive quarter, while China is placed at the bottom within Asia Pacific region, a ManpowerGroup survey showed on Tuesday.

Releasing its third-quarter global hiring outlook survey, the leading staffing consultancy said, "Indian employers report bright hiring prospects for the next three months.

"With 37 per cent of employers forecasting an increase in staffing levels, 1 per cent anticipating a decrease and 49 per cent expecting no change, the resulting Net Employment Outlook is over 36 per cent."

Globally, India is followed by Japan as the second-most optimistic on hiring outlook, while the US is placed fifth.

Brazil fares the worst globally as one of the only three countries with a negative outlook, the other two being France and Italy.

Within the Asia Pacific region, China has the least optimistic hiring outlook (5 per cent), ManpowerGroup said, while adding that "for the fourth consecutive quarter, employers in India report the most optimistic regional and global hiring plans".

Amid uncertainty, global hiring outlook for the July-September quarter of this year showed continued but slowing hiring intentions. Even employers in India reported the weakest outlook since the first quarter of 2014, and reported a decline of 3 percentage points both quarter-over quarter and year-over-year.

"India's prospects remain comparatively positive even amid global economic slowdown. Despite market volatilities, India's macroeconomic fundamentals have improved due to a combination of various initiatives focused on job creation and skill development with a continuing emphasis on ease of doing business, particularly in relation to infrastructure and other large projects," ManpowerGroup India Group Managing Director A G Rao said.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter 2016 was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 5,100 employers in India.

Of the nearly 59,000 employers interviewed globally, 40 of 43 countries and territories anticipate increasing their staffing levels in the July-September quarter.

"Stronger employer hiring intentions in most regions is certainly cause for optimism, though global growth is still below pre-recession levels," said Jonas Prising, Chairman & CEO of ManpowerGroup.

"The political uncertainty in Europe and the United States means employers are hesitant to significantly add to their workforce, but they do continue to hire at modest levels, and many are still experiencing difficulty finding in-demand skills. Meanwhile, the economic slowdown in China still casts a shadow over its trading partners and an otherwise mostly stable economic situation."