Amidst the global recession, India’s hiring sentiment for the services sector stands strong in Q4 – states TeamLease

• 77% employers keen to increase their resource pool in the January to March quarter
• Positive hiring sentiment across Ecommerce and Allied Start-ups, Educational Services and Telecommunication sector
• Opportunities ahead for entry-level employees and fresh graduates

TeamLease Services, India’s top staffing conglomerate revolutionizing employment, employability and ease of doing business, has launched its “Employment Outlook Report” for Q4 (January to March, 2023) for the services sector. A comprehensive analysis of the hiring trends across industries, functions and regions, the report indicates that India is leading with the highest hiring intent despite the ongoing global inflation. Close to 77% employers (as compared to 73% in Q3) are keen to increase their resource pool in the services sector. However, in comparison to Q4 2021, intent to hire has risen by 27%. Overall, across services and manufacturing sectors, an average of 68% employers (65% in Q3) have expressed a strong hiring sentiment.

According to the report findings, Q4 is projecting a strong outlook, especially for fresh graduates and entry-level employees, with 79% employers (74% in Q3) willing to hire from this cohort. Opportunities for mid-level (50%) and senior level (32%) are also performing balanced. From a business size perspective, large enterprises (82%), followed by small (61%) and medium (50%) are all indicating robust employment progression.

For candidates who are looking to secure job opportunities in the services segment, some of the key sectors leading the hiring spree are Ecommerce (98%), Telecommunications (94%), Educational services (93%), Financial Services (88%), Retail (85%) and Logistics (81%).

Sharing his views about the industry and the report’s findings, Mr Mayur Taday, Chief Business Officer, TeamLease Services, said, “The ongoing global turmoil with mass layoffs, hiring freeze, and impending recession has significantly affected the services sector globally, especially the IT industry. However, the sentiment in India continues to be on an upward trajectory, with 77% employers indicating a higher hiring outlook. The Central Government’s push towards increasing monetization ability, introducing FDI reforms, liberalizing conventional satellite communication and remote sensing businesses to increase private sector participation has contributed to the employment growth. At this rate, India has already paved the way to become a global leader in the services sector.”

The 8.7% GDP in FY 2021-22, and a surplus of public investment schemes, are projected to further stimulate employment growth. In addition, the Government of India’s INR 6 lakh crore asset monetization strategy over the four years till 2025, followed by revisions in FDI laws in the defense and telecom sectors, would have a greater influence on employment for the fourth quarter.

In Metro & Tier-1 cities, the hiring intent for the services sector is at an exceptionally high level (99%). Tier-1 cities like Bangalore (97%), Chennai (94%), Delhi (90%), Hyderabad (86%) and Mumbai (85%) are thriving mainly across Telecom and Financial Services industries. This region is projected to far outpace employment creation in contrast to the lower tier categories, driven by job growth and skill needs for the Start-Ups, Information Technology, and Telecommunications industries. Tier-3 cities show an increase of 2%, rising from 47% to 49%. The Rural geography, otherwise, shows a nominal decline of 1% to 25%.

Looking at the attrition trend, the services sector is seeing a significantly low talent retention rate despite the advancements in Information Technology (27.19%), Educational Services (18.02%), Ecommerce & Allied Start-ups (15.13%), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (13.79%) and Telecommunications (12.05%).

“With the 5G rollout, employers are already upskilling their current workforce for the upcoming 5G services. The upside of this activity has positively impacted educational, financial and knowledge outsourcing services. This is a huge step towards lowering the current attrition trend.” added Mr Ajoy Thomas, Vice President and Business Head (Retail, E-Commerce, Logistics and Transportation), TeamLease Services. 

The TeamLease Employment Outlook Report is a forward-looking tool for Business & HR heads, Senior Management and Policy-makers as well as employees and freshers to understand the hiring sentiment. It had surveyed 573 small, medium and large companies across the 14 service industries across India. The Intent to hire indicator is specifically tailored to capture both moderate and significant changes in hiring sentiment within companies. By comparing the previous quarter’s environment to the current quarter, the metric allows us to accurately gauge the current quarter’s environment.