ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey: Labour market indicates strong sentiments in the third quarter of 2022

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released, labour market is indicating strong sentiments in the third quarter of 2022. Sixty-three per cent expect to increase their staffing levels, 12 per cent anticipate a decrease in hiring intent and 24 per cent do not anticipate any change, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +51 per cent which is a record high in eight years.

When compared to the same period last year, hiring sentiments have improved by a whopping +46 while there is a 13 percentage points growth when compared to the last quarter.

Hiring markets in India are ranked first in the region, and third globally, 19-points above the regional average. India’s year-on-year increase is ranked first globally, outperforming the 40-country average increase since Q3 2021 by 28-points.

Employers in three (North, South and West) out of four regions showed equally strong pace with a Net Employment Outlook of +53 per cent whereas the outlook for East is +41 per cent.

ManpowerGroup also surveyed employers on talent shortage being faced and difficulties in finding the required soft skills to match the job.

Key Findings:

• Companies in the IT, Technology, Telecom, Communications and Media sector report hiring outlook of +68 per cent followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Sector (60 per cent).
• Hiring forecast is least optimistic in the Primary Production and Not for Profit sectors, with a Net Employment Outlook of +25 per cent and +35 per cent respectively.
• Eight-three per cent of employers surveyed are finding it difficult to fill open position with the biggest impact being felt in the Construction Sector (+85 per cent).
• Top five soft skills that organizations have difficulty finding include creativity and originality, critical thinking and analysis, reasoning and problem solving, leadership and social influence and Initiative taking.

Commenting on the findings, Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India opines, “Despite rising inflation and the geo political instability, there is a positive sentiment across sectors in India in a bid to speed up the recovery process and sustain the economic growth of the country. We are, however, faced with an unprecedented demand supply gap as indicated by our Talent Shortage Survey. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce to mitigate this gap should be the highest priority for employers as well as industry players like us.”

“Growing need for digitization, automation and tech enabled services in our country coupled with demand for Indian IT workforce across the globe will retain the IT and Technology sector on top of the charts in the Indian job market,” commented Gulati.

Employers in all four regions expect to grow payrolls during the first quarter of 2022. The hiring pace is similar in three out of four regions (North, West and South) where the Net Employment Outlook stands at +53 per cent. Dynamic hiring activity is also forecast for the East where the outlook is recorded at +41 per cent. Hiring prospects strengthen in all four regions when compared with the previous quarter and same time last year.

 In the beginning of this year, four new industries were added – Primary Production, IT and Technology, Not For Profit and Restaurants and Hotels. An increase in payrolls is forecast for all eleven industry sectors during the coming quarter. IT and Technology sector employers report the strongest hiring intentions with a Net Employment Outlook of +68 per cent followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+60 per cent).

In Asia Pacific region, hiring sentiment strengthens in five countries and territories quarter-on-quarter while weakening in two: Singapore and Taiwan. Compared with last year, outlooks weaken in two countries and territories while improving in five. The strongest hiring prospects are reported in India (+49 per cent), followed by Australia (+37 per cent) and Hong Kong (+37 per cent), while the weakest regional labor market is expected in Japan (+11 per cent), Taiwan (+13 per cent) and Singapore (+14 per cent) – the three weakest globally.