The Indian job market continues to be upbeat as companies are going ahead with their hiring plans for the July-September quarter despite macroeconomic headwinds from high inflation, rising cost of money and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Hiring intent of the companies has hit a 27-month high, the highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest Teamlease Employment Outlook Report. The report, based on a survey which covered nearly 900 small, medium and large companies across 23 sectors and 14 cities, showed that more than 61 percent companies intend to hire for white-collar and blue-collar roles in the quarter, compared to 38 percent a year ago. The hiring intent is up seven percent from the previous quarter.

Company executives and economists said positive near-term indicators such as increased mobility, pentup demand and rise in consumption in certain sectors are prompting companies to plan for manpower needs for future growth. Talent demand-supply mismatch and high levels of attritions in certain sectors are also prompting companies to keep the hiring funnel strong, they said. “The hiring momentum among Indian corporations continues to be positive as companies maintain a pleasantly warm outlook on jobs”, said Rituparna Chakraborty, Executive Director at staffing firm Teamlease Services. ‘Finding the right talent at the right time is a challenge for companies, while the double-digit attrition in several sectors such as information technology, educational services, and healthcare and pharmaceutical, and more, is prompting companies to pre-empt and hire’.

The second quarter of the financial year also coincides with the festive season starting from August which will also lead to a lot of festive demand for talent, especially in the blue-collar segment, she said. Metro and Tier-I cities lead the hiring spree, with the highest intent to hire of 89 percent, an increase of six percentage points from the previous quarter. Bengaluru (95 percent), Chennai (87 percent) and Mumbai (83 percent) led the cities in the hiring intent. The hiring intent for junior level roles has surged 10 percentage points from the previous quarter to 61 percent. IT leads the sectors in the hiring intent, with 98 percent companies planning to hire, followed by educational services (91 percent), e-Commerce (89 percent), healthcare and pharmaceutical (88 percent), telecom (84 percent), essential retail (75 percent), FMCG (73 percent), knowledge process outsourcing (70 percent), logistics (70 percent) and financial services (68 percent).

Metro and tier-i cities lead the hiring spree, with the highest intent to hire of 89 percent, an increase of six percentage points from the previous quarter

“Corporates plan their white-collar hiring to meet medium to long-term demand and, as a result, they will continue to add manpower despite concerns around monetary indicators such as rupee depreciation and inflation”, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda. ‘The real economic indicators are showing an upward movement - for example, tax collection or industrial growth data are positive for jobs’. Lupin's global human resources president Yashwant Mahadik said companies will wait and see for the next two quarters, with growth in the newer business areas due to digital transformation, while traditional jobs may remain flat for a few months. “India businesses are stable or growing and that's a positive for the sector, while the global macrofactors will be crucial in deciding future buoyancy in job market”.