Hiring intention stable at 53.41 per cent during Apr-Sept 2019: Experis Survey

Hiring intention among Indian employers remains stable for the period April-September 2019 with a marginal increase of 0.41 percentage points on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, states the latest Experis Employment Outlook Survey (EITEOS). Conducted biannually by Experis IT, part of the ManpowerGroup India, the survey looks to measure IT and non-IT employers' hiring intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce.

The hiring outlook of 53.41 per cent is led by IT companies, with 36.41 per cent expressing positive hiring sentiment, followed by 17 per cent non-IT companies.

A forward-looking survey reflecting hiring sentiment of Indian IT and non-IT employers, the analysis of the EITEOS data is based on parameters such as geography, level of experience, type and size of organization, IT skills and practice areas, among others. Sectors including IT, retail, manufacturing and BFSI have been broadly covered in the survey, covering over 500 firms. Companies have been classified as small (less than 200 employees), medium (201-500 employees) and large (500+ employees).

As per the survey, IT services companies will continue to be the major hirers for the rest of 2019. However, several non-tech firms have also expressed high intentions of adding headcount to their teams as they realise the potential that digitization offers in driving efficiency and customer convenience to the next level.

Of the total 53.41 per cent, sector-wise, IT services and IT Hardware & Network have posted highest outlook at 25 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. Following them are sectors like e-commerce and manufacturing reporting an outlook of six per cent each. BFSI and retail registered a marginal three per cent and two per cent hiring outlook, with the rest 47 per cent not expressing any higher intentions for April-September 2019 period.

In what could hint at efforts by IT firms in exploring new avenues, at 12 per cent and 11 per cent, new product & process development as well as .Net and React & Angular JS have been the top two IT skills expected to add headcount to the IT workforce this year, given the hiring outlook.

Around 18 per cent of Indian employers expressed their interest in hiring techies in the 'Software Product Development” practice area, with another 11 per cent wanting to hire IT professionals for 'Application Support Functions'. Other practice areas mentioned by the prospective employers as in-demand are Cloud Computing, Big Data, Hardware and Networking Management and Cyber Security.

Geographically, the strongest labour market for IT talent is expected in the souther region, with an employment outlook of 24 per cent, followed by west at 16 per cent and north at 13 per cent during April-September 2019. The eastern region did not clock any outlook for the period. In the previous April-September 2018 period, however, southern market stood at 25 per cent, west grew at 18 per cent and north at seven per cent.

By level of experience, highest hiring intention was reported for candidates in the 0-5 years slab at 38.99 per cent, followed by 6-10 years slab with 13.84 per cent outlook while above 10 years attracted a mere 0.39 per cent. Medium sized companies with employee strength of 201-500 have shown the strongest demand for young techies with 0-5 years’ experience, with 17 per cent expressing hiring outlook.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.