Hiring outlook expected to be stable in Q3 2021: ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released by ManpowerGroup India, the survey of 1303 employers across India indicates a more or less stable in hiring plans for the upcoming three months. Sectors which will lead the job market are likely to be the Transportation & Utilities followed by Services sector. The strongest hiring pace is recorded in the medium sized organizations followed by the Large sized organizations with a seasonally adjusted outlook of +8% and +6% respectively From a region perspective, North and South indicate similar outlook at +6%.

ManpowerGroup further extended its survey to include the impact of COVID resulting in the following outcome:

• A majority with 46% of them said that did not know when they were likely to resume regular hiring. Only 3% reported not expecting to go back to pre-pandemic levels of hiring. For those who expected an increase in hiring, 54% stated they would hire by June 2021.
• 40% of survey respondents expected to have their workforce work from home full-time.
• 38% of the respondents wanted to have either flexible or condensed work hours for their employees.

Some of the concern for most organizations surveyed about remote working revolved around worker wellbeing, company culture, productivity, and innovation. The biggest concern, with 51%, was whether their employees will be able to collaborate efficiently.

Sandeep Gulati, Group Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India said, “The second wave of the Pandemic has been ruthless. However, India has shown buoyancy and determination to recover by maintaining the momentum of its economic activities. The Ministry of Electronics and IT invited players to bid for the second round of large-scale electronics manufacturing under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. They further announced a key scheme for establishing display fabrication units in India. The Parliament approved bill to increase FDI’s in Insurance sector. Further, Production-linked Incentives of Rs. 2 trillion is approved by the cabinet to be disbursed over 5 years to create jobs and boost production. All these measures will enhance and accelerate the growth trajectory.”

He further opined “The demand for skilled workforce has been stable since the beginning of the year. Demand for Sales, Service and Delivery personnel is on the rise as consumer confidence is returning owing to the vaccination drive.”

Sectoral Trends 

Workforce gains are anticipated in six of the seven industry sectors during the upcoming quarter. The strongest labor market is forecast by Transportation & Utilities sector employers with a Net Employment Outlook of +10%, while Services sector employers expect a fair hiring pace, reporting an Outlook of +7%. However, Mining & Construction sector employers expect to trim payrolls, reporting an Outlook of -2%. Hiring intentions weaken in four of the seven industry sectors when compared with the previous quarter, most notably by 6 percentage points in the Mining & Construction sector. In both the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector and the Public Administration & Education sector, Outlooks decline by 4 percentage points, while Services sector employers report a decrease of 2 percentage points. Meanwhile, Transportation & Utilities sector employers report an improvement of 3 percentage points.

India’s Regional Trends

The strongest hiring prospects are reported in the North and South where the Net Employment Outlook is +6%. Hiring prospects weaken by 4 percentage points in the West when compared with the previous quarter, and decline by 2 percentage points in the North. Elsewhere, hiring sentiment remains relatively stable in both the East and the South.

Global Trends

ManpowerGroup interviewed 45,000 employers in 43 countries, a post-pandemic hiring boom is on the horizon; with intentions at the most optimistic level since the beginning of the pandemic, with outlooks improving in 31 out of 43 countries when compared with the previous quarter. All participants were asked, “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of June 2021 as compared to the current quarter?”  

Strongest hiring prospects are reported in the U.S. (+25%), Taiwan (+24%) and Australia (+17%), with the weakest in Argentina (+1%), Panama (+1%) and South Africa (+1%). Those industries who are unable to offer flexibility are struggling the most to fill talent shortages (74%), as are firms with a headcount above 250 (74%)*. European employers report the highest talent shortage globally (74%), with the biggest impacts being felt in France (88%), Romania (86%) and Italy (85%)*Most employers are working to build new kinds of flexibility into roles that were previously seen as inflexible; 36% of employers said they plan to incorporate flexible start and finish times, and 31% plan on offering a mix of remote working and workplace-based working 

In comparison with the prior quarter, hiring plans strengthen in three countries (China, Japan and Hong Kong) and weaken in three (Taiwan, Singapore and India). Compared with all other regions, 15% APAC employers plan to have employees work remotely all of the time, compared with just 5% in EMEA and 3% in the Americas. Half of employers in APAC are the most optimistic about a return to pre-pandemic hiring levels by the end of 2022 (49%). China reports one of its strongest outlooks in years. Its Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector outlook of +19% is the strongest reported since 2013.