India Inc hiring intent up 7% in September quarter: TeamLease report

Indian firms top on this metric among major global markets; intent to hire at 64% in Sept quarter, up from 54% in previous three-month period; could touch 70% in next few quarters

The intent to hire by corporates in India witnessed a 7 per cent increase for the July-September quarter from the previous quarter—an increase from 54 per cent to 61 per cent, said a report by TeamLease Services.

The TeamLease Employment Outlook Report” for the period July-September 2022 noted that the trends pointing to an increase in hiring intent are imminent and the next few quarters could very well see the Intent to Hire cross the 70 per cent mark. The reason for the hiring intent to go up were propelled by some of the initiatives announced by the government, said the report.

Metro and Tier-1 geographies top the intent to hire, witnessing an increase of 6 per cent for the forthcoming quarter (rising to 89 per cent) over the previous quarter. Tier-2 cities on the other hand, witness an even higher increase (7 per cent) in the intent to hire, rising to 62 per cent for the forthcoming quarter.

Tier-3 cities show an increase of 3 per cent, from 34 per cent to 37 per cent. The rural geography, likewise, shows a nominal rise of 2 per cent.

From a city perspective, Delhi (72 per cent) followed by Mumbai (59 per cent) and Chennai (55 per cent) are the most promising cities in the manufacturing sector. From a services sector perspective, the top cities are Bengaluru (97 per cent), Mumbai (81 per cent), and Delhi (68 per cent).

Rituparna Chakraborty, Executive Director & Co-Founder, TeamLease, said, “Overall the ecosystem is taking a progressive turn, with more organisations projecting the intent to increase their hiring. This optimism is largely influenced by increased public investment in PLI schemes, an advanced Rs 2.65 trillion stimulus package by the government to generate job opportunities and provide liquidity to sectors like tourism, aviation and housing. With these factors, an increase in hiring sentiment is not only imminent but over the next few quarters, it is likely to cross the 70 per cent mark as well”.

Globally, the intent to hiring is higher in India (61 per cent) than in the Americas (38 per cent), Europe (21 per cent), APAC (38 per cent)

“While a few organisations may occasionally stall hiring due to the rise in Covid cases or possible restrictions due to Covid, there will not be any major recalibration in the overall hiring strategy,” added Chakraborty.

With regard to intent to hire as per the business size, small companies witness the highest increase in hiring intent ---41 per cent to 47 per cent (an increase of 6 per cent). In comparison, medium and large sized businesses showed an increase of 4 per cent (69 per cent Intent to Hire) for the quarter. To sum it up, large companies are projecting the highest intent to hire, and small businesses are exhibiting the highest growth in the intent to hire vs last quarter.

The forthcoming quarter brings good tidings for Junior-level roles. The hiring intent for these roles sees a sharp rise to 61 per cent (an increase of 10 per cent from the last quarter). On the other hand, entry level roles are set to gain as well, with a 6 per cent increase in hiring intent from last quarter (59 per cent in this quarter). This is indicative of a spurt in job prospects across these two levels, for potential seekers.

Deep diving into the hiring sentiment basis functionality, the report highlights that Engineering, and Marketing roles show dramatic increase in the hiring intent for the forthcoming quarter.

The  hiring intent for Engineering roles sees a staggering 13 per cent increase to 70 per cent. Additionally, hiring intent rises by a substantial 10 per cent for Marketing roles, to 63 per cent. Sales and Information Technology (IT) see an increase in hiring intent by 8 per cent apiece, to touch 90 per cent and 83 per cent.

Blue Collar job roles show a significant 7 per cent rise, from 50 per cent during the previous term, to 57 per cent for the forthcoming quarter. IT and Sales remain the most in-demand job functions, but with employers stepping up their plans to hire for the other functions, the forthcoming quarter is set to see increased levels of hiring for engineering, marketing and blue-collar jobs.

The Employment Outlook Report reflects hiring sentiment across 14 cities and 23 sectors in India. The survey covers 865 small, medium and large companies across the 23 sectors across India.