Hiring intent for Jan-March 2022 at 8-year high: ManpowerGroup study

The net hiring intent of employers in India is at an eight-year high of 49 per cent with a majority of employers optimistic about increasing their staffing levels in January-March 2022, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey of 3020 employers released on Tuesday.

The survey, conducted in October 2021, found 64 per cent employers forecasting an increase in payrolls, 20 per cent anticipating a decrease and 15 per cent expecting no change. The resulting net employment outlook is at an eight-year high of 49 per cent, it said.

Employers in large organisations report the most optimistic outlook with 51 per cent intending to hire in the first quarter compared to 25 per cent in small companies, the survey found.  

Further, all eleven industry sectors surveyed reported positive intentions to add to their payrolls, with companies in the IT, Technology, Telecom, Communications and Media sector reporting a net hiring outlook of 60 per cent, followed by 56 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels sector.

Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sectors come next with outlooks of 56 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Manufacturing and Education, Health, Social Work and Government sector employers expect a brisk hiring pace, reporting an outlook of 47 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, while the outlook for the Wholesale & Retail Trade sector stands at 42 per cent. Hiring forecast is the least optimistic in the Construction and Primary Production sectors, with a net outlook of 29 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.

Significantly, 91 per cent of the employers surveyed will mandate double vaccination and require proof of it from their staff.  

Employers know flexibility is the key to attracting workers in a tight labour market, the report said.  Organisations expect 56 per cent of IT and 50 per cent of Finance & Accounting workforce to work remotely/hybrid mix of onsite workplace and remote. This is a substantial change since Q2 2021, when 92 per cent of organisations predicted a shift to a hybrid model. Not all roles will be hybrid, though, with 45 per cent of Manufacturing and Production industries most likely to be in the workplace all of the time.

“The boost in hiring outlook reflects employers’ sustained confidence in achieving a post-pandemic recovery. But the new variant is seemingly creating volatility for the administrators,” said ManpowerGroup India Managing Director Sandeep Gulati.

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