Job market in India looking up, but Bangalore tops in attrition: Teamlease Survey

Is there some respite in sight for job seekers in the country? If data from a recent study are reliable, green shoots are visible on the hiring front.

The latest employment and business outlook report by Bangalore-based staffing firm Teamlease, after interviewing HR heads, CEOs and senior executives of 495 companies across the country, indicates signs of revival.

For the July-September quarter, the net employment outlook index stands at 46 points, an increase of 22 points compared to the previous quarter. Similarly for net business outlook, the index stands at 24 points, an increase of 26 points compared to the previous quarter (it was in the negative last quarter indicating high levels of firing).

The telecom domain is seen to be closest to recovery with 55 points, followed by information technology and infrastructure at 53 points. But the ITES sector is yet to show any sign of revival, said the study.

Teamlease general manager Surabhi Mathur-Gandhi said, “With the stabilisation of economies and optimism in global expansion, there is a direct positive implication for the Indian employment situation. We are observing a slow and steady upsurge in the hiring intent across sectors. The advent of new players and aggressive expansion of large telecom giants has seen a bullish outlook for the industry with a promise of exponential growth.’’

There is a slow and steady upsurge in the hiring intent across sectors, according to the Teamlease study. IT, infrastructure, manufacturing and engineering sectors seem to be optimistic too. “There is a large play to replenish good talent to further business. There are active hiring plans reported by Indian employers and the overall employment outlook, though a bit conservative, is bullish and upbeat,’’ added Gandhi.

Chennai has scored the highest improvement on employment outlook with a rise of 37 points, followed by Delhi and Pune at 33 points and Hyderabad at 28 points. All these cities have also shown an increase in business outlook index while Pune topped the pack by scoring 47 points.

Bangalore showed an increase of 9 points in the net employment outlook compared to the last quarter, one of the weakest increases among cities, and an 18 point increase in the net business outlook. However, the city accounted for the highest attrition rate, IT accounts for over 80% of the city’s total labour pool, at 23% in the last quarter, over the previous quarter’s 16%. Much of the attrition could be involuntary attrition (or layoffs). Attrition was also high in Hyderabad and Chennai while Kolkata reported the lowest.