Job Market May Witness Stability In Few Sectors

As the economy saw the worst contraction in decades, the job market has also witnessed a tumultuous phase as it remained muted in terms of workforce expansion and salary hikes. However, recently a pick-up in the sentiment has surfaced as the numbers show a marginal climb. According to a recent report released by Manpower Employment Survey, there will be stable hiring plans for the upcoming three months as compared to last quarter. August had already started on a positive swing with over 60,000 jobs getting refreshed and relisted. Public administration, transport & utilities and finance, insurance, and retail estate are the sectors that will be leading the fourth-quarter job market, as the employers express the strongest hiring intentions in these sectors. However, hope does not linger in every sector, as manufacturing, mining, and construction sector are reported to be indicating a neutral growth in this quarter. According to the survey 44 per cent of employers kept the light of hope burning as they expect to return to pre-COVID-19 hiring within the next nine months. Whereas, 42 per cent are unsure about returning to normalcy and plan to adopt new strategies.  

Organizations are welcoming innovations and creativity in recruiting to meet the present market demand. They are racing to stabilise the job environment by embracing new forms of employee engagements, getting furloughed employees back, and implementing technology to influence employment trends this quarter. Technology will continue to play a key role in the post-pandemic work environment. 

Companies believe that the festive season this year might be unusual but will bring hope along with it. 

Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of Manpower India said, “Corporates are playing the stand-by game hoping for the festive season to bring them the good news.” He further added that the government is taking steps to ease the burden on Corporate India by providing various SOPs from production linked incentives to changes in labour laws and leniency on tax returns. 

The pandemic has made organizations realise the benefits of having a flexible workforce. According to data represented by the survey, 40 per cent of the employers plan to offer remote work and flexible hours in the post-pandemic workforce and around 25 per cent are planning to offer a hybrid model to the employees. However, when it comes to offering facilities like health and well-being added with a space to upgrade skills, only 2 per cent of the employers have agreed to do so. 

The survey shows that employers in all four regions expect to increase payrolls during the next three months. The strongest markets showing a positive outlook are North and East. 

From a global perspective, the survey discloses that employers in 22 of 43 countries and territories expect payroll gains in the period up to the end of December 2020. Whereas, in 16 countries and territories, the employers have reported reducing the payrolls, and a flat labour market is anticipated in five.

As compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, employers report a frail hiring sentiment in six countries and territories. The strongest activity is expected in Taiwan and Japan, whereas Singapore and Hong Kong lie under the weakest labour markets.