India still optimistic about hiring amid global slowdown

New Delhi, Sep 9 (UNI) The global slowdown seems to have caught up with India as the hiring for the October-December 2007 fell to 43 per cent from 45 per cent in the previous quarter, a global staffing services firm Manpower said today.

There seems to be a slightly cautious approach to hiring and this might further rise in the coming three-month period of 2008, Manpower said in its quarterly Employment Outlook Survey.

''Notwithstanding the fact that labour market in India is expected to remain dynamic, some industry sectors seem to be experiencing the first signs of a global slowdown. Employers in both the services sector, finance and real estate sector are less optimistic than they were in the last quarter,'' Manpower India Managing Director Naresh Malhan said.

Overall, the year 2008 has been a challenging year with lot of changes in various phases of the economy. Going forward a lot depends on whether we will end this year with higher inflation and depressed GDP growth, he added.

''The recent downturn is weighing on the minds of employers.

In the coming months, we will continue to see employers around the globe making do with the people they have, finding ways to contain costs and being very cautious about hiring decisions,'' Manpower Inc Chairman and CEO Jeffrey A Joerres said.

A sectoral analysis reveals that employers in the mining and construction industry are reporting their fifth consecutive quarter of booming hiring projections.

Mining and construction sector employers reported a net employment outlook of 54 per cent and public administration and education employers have reported least optimistic hiring intentions (32 per cent), the survey said.

The poll included 4,950 Indian firms. It indicates that India has topped the 33 countries surveyed by Manpower despite the marginal fall from the previous quarter.

Growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than half of India's output, slowed to 10 percent in the June quarter from 11.2 per cent a year ago. Financial, insurance and real estate services growth declined to 9.3 per cent from 12.6 per cent.

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