Business Today-BT-Teamlease Employment Outlook Survey-A TIME FOR CAUTION-2008

1. Sectoral story: There’s good news for people seeking jobs in the IT and ITES sectors. IT is back in the reckoning with a five point improvement in its Employment Outlook Index—quite a change from the last quarter, when the index was down six points…


2. Cities of joy (and distress): Hyderabad is the flavour of the season, and has registered an upswing of 23 index points, while Chennai is under the weather (down 25 index points). Businesses in Delhi and Bangalore are quite upbeat about creating new jobs (up three and six points, respectively) during the quarter as are businesses in Ahmedabad (up 16 points). The employment outlook in Mumbai, however, is down, albeit marginally…


3. Small gains: Even as the bulk of the jobs are being created in the metros, Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities are also in the frame. Recruitments across all these classifications are on an upswing…


4. Biz takes a hit: Business sentiment, in one word, is bleak and the Net Business Outlook is at its lowest. Among sectors, ITES is the sole impressive gainer, with an increase of 23 index points; manufacturing and engineering have also improved (up three index points each)…


5. A level playing field: The BT-TeamLease survey suggests that entry-level recruitments will perk up in the July-September quarter, while hiring at the junior management level will decline marginally…


6. Crystal ball gazing: Analysts agree that in the next quarter, a few factors could dampen opportunities in the job market. High crude oil prices, the global downturn, rising inflation and political uncertainty are expected to reduce growth rates in the country and, consequently, lead to “less hiring than would otherwise be the case”…


7. Methodolgy: The Business Today-Teamlease Employment outlook Survey, which follows a rigorous, statistically-validated process adhering to the highest standards in market research, was conducted among 490 companies selected from the Kompass Directory that lists 70 per cent of all registered companies in the organised sector, from NASSCOM for IT companies…