Realty, telecom may lead hiring squeeze in H2 of FY19: Teamlease report

Overall dip in net employment outlook is led by realty and telecommunications sectors, followed by agriculture & agrochemicals, BPO/ITeS and FMCG

Contrary to early signals of a healthy placement season across campuses, the latest Employment Outlook Report for the October-March 2018-19 period by TeamLease Services, India’s largest staffing company, has forecast a three per cent decline in net employment outlook. 

According to the report, the net employment outlook for October 2018 to March 2019, the period when maximum hiring takes place is down to 92 per cent, as compared to 95 per cent for the preceding half-year (April– September 2018). 

TeamLease Employment Outlook Report is a comprehensive study that brings forth the important employment and business trends that will play a significant role in determining how job creation and hiring pans out in India and the global market over the next six months. 

The report has surveyed 750 employers and 2,500 employees of small, medium and large companies across 19 sectors and 14 cities to understand the hiring sentiments in the country. According to the report, eight out of nineteen sectors surveyed report increase in the Net Employment Outlook, seven other sectors report drop in their outlook, while one sector reports no change for the October-March, 2018-19 HY.

However, sector-wise, power and energy sector is expected to be the biggest gainer with a four per cent increase in hiring sentiments over the next six months period from October 2018 to March 2019. Following power & energy sector will be financial services, media & entertainment, and educational services at three per cent each, and healthcare & pharma, e-commerce & tech start-ups, manufacturing, engineering & infrastructure, and travel & hospitality at two per cent each.

The overall dip in net employment outlook is led by sectors like construction & real estate and retail & telecommunications posting a three per cent drop, followed by agriculture & agrochemicals (2 per cent), BPO/ITeS (2 per cent), IT (2 per cent), and FMCG (1 per cent).

In terms of employee levels, mid-level hiring sentiment at three per cent is the one saving grace for job seekers even as entry-level hiring sentiment fell by a substantial five per cent. Junior and senior level hiring sentiment also fell by three per cent and four per cent, respectively.

In a first, the biannual report has added 'Job Creation' for each of the 19 sectors over the next HY 2018-19. Under job creation, the report forecasts 33,100 new job addition by power & energy sector, followed by financial services (44,650) and media & entertainment (46,300) in the second half of fiscal 2018-19. 

"Despite the growing GDP, there has been a slight dip in the employment outlook in the next half year. However, sectors such as power and energy and financial services which have shown a surge in the employment outlook are a relief. In fact, tier 3 cities which have shown improvement in the employment outlook is a testament that new avenues and job markets are opening up across India and therefore many opportunities will follow in the next half year," said Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services.  

Further, on the upside, Chakraborty stated that the hiring of fresh graduates across sectors and cities is likely to be nearly 16.3 per cent of all net new jobs created during the April-September, 2018-19 half year. "These factors will definitely boost the confidence of the job seekers even though there is a minor plunge in the outlook," she said.

The report also highlights the attrition rate for from April- September 2018-19. 8 of the 19 sectors witnessed significantly higher attrition during the last HY (April-September, 2018-19) as compared with the last FY (April – March, 2017-18. For seven other sectors attrition rates dropped significantly during the previous HY. The attrition rates are significantly higher for educational services, media & entertainment, retail and telecommunication, and fall for agriculture & agrochemicals and financial services. Among the newly introduced sectors logistics witnessed a considerably high, 16.55 per cent, attrition rate for the April-September, 2018-19 HY.

An in-depth survey was also done across sectors and cities on the job demand estimates, net new job creation and jobs created to compensate for attrition. For instance, FMCG sector in Mumbai will create 15,500 jobs of which 14,200 will be net new job creation and 13,300 jobs will be created to compensate for attrition. It also estimates the new job creation for fresh graduates: FMCG sector will create 3,980 new jobs in Mumbai.

Key Findings
 

• Net Employment Outlook for India drops 3% to 92% for the October-March, 2018-19 half year
• Preceding half-year (April-September 2018) saw 95% net employment outlook
• Mid-level hiring sentiment at 3% is the one saving grace
• Entry-level hiring sentiment falls by a substantial -5%, 
• Junior-level hiring outlook falls by -3%, senior-level by -4%.