India is most optimistic recruiter in the world: Survey

New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) Recession may have hit many
sectors but employers in India are the most optimistic towards
hiring, an international survey has said.

It also adds that most of the recruiters in the country
are still unsure about their hiring intent in the next fiscal.

The survey conducted by a US-based HR consulting firm
'Manpower' covers 33 nations, including India. Around 3,336
Indian companies across seven industry sectors and 72,000
employers worldwide responded to the survey.

According to the survey, India's Net Employment Outlook
(percentage of employers anticipating total employment to
increase minus percentage expecting to see decrease in
employment in the next quarter) had improved to 25 plus
percentage against 19 per cent in the last quarter -- the
highest among the surveyed countries.

"At 25 per cent plus, the Net Employment Outlook (NEO)
may be the most optimistic reported globally but this is a
historically weak forecast from Indian employers and they
remain hesitant about adding employees at this time," Managing
Director of Manpower India, Naresh Malhan stated in a release.

The survey attributes the drop of NEO to 25 per cent plus
currently from 42 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 to
the impact of the global downturn.

Malhan maintained that for the first time in the survey's
history, 64 per cent of the India employers remained
"undecided" about their hiring intent for the next quarter.

"This relatively slow pace in hiring in the second
quarter can be attributed to the employers' focus on
maintaining the workforce at current levels. Hiring intentions
have softened as requirements are being reviewed at the
beginning of the fiscal year," Malhan added.

Hiring in the US have declined to the levels seen during
the recession of 1982, as a significant number of employers
surveyed anticipated no change in their employment intentions.

The services sector in India was the most optimistic
projecting a strong net employment outlook of 29 per cent
followed by transportation and utilities (23 pc),
manufacturing (22 pc), public administration and education (22
pc) and insurance, finance and real estate (21 pc).

The survey states that employers in all the four regions
in the country predict a strong labour market for April-June,
2009.

"The most optimistic forecast is from the eastern region,
where the net employment outlook stands at 27 pc, followed by
south, west and north at 24 pc, 23 pc and 22 pc respectively,"
the survey said.

South Africa trails behind India with net score at 14 per
cent, while China registered four per cent and the US just one
per cent.