At a time of uncertainty and global layoffs, the hiring for blue-collar job roles in the services and manufacturing sector is expected to increase by 10% in the first quarter of FY23-24, according to the latest report by TeamLease Services. Titled as the "Employment Outlook Report," for FY23-24, close to 64% of employers in the services and manufacturing sector are keen to increase their resource pool across industries in the April to June period of FY23-24. The hiring outlook, however, has witnessed a dip of 4% in the period under review as compared to Q4 of FY22.

According to the report, the services sector has a 73% and 71% hiring outlook for entry and junior-level positions, whereas the manufacturing sector has a 49% and 55% hiring outlook for entry and junior-level job roles, respectively. The hiring outlook for mid-level positions in the services sector is expected to be 54%, whereas in the manufacturing sector is expected to be 32%. The report says that from a business size perspective, 86% of large-sized organisations in the services sector and 73% of large-sized organisations in the manufacturing sector have weathered the recession well and have higher levels of hiring intent than in the previous quarter. Across the two quarters and sizes of companies, the services sector has higher levels of hiring intent than the manufacturing sector.

"Industries around the world, including those in India, have been severely affected by the current global unrest, which has resulted in large-scale layoffs, a hiring freeze, and an imminent economic downturn. Despite this, hiring prospects in India have continued to improve over the past year, with 64% of employers in the service and manufacturing industries expressing a positive outlook on hiring. The main reason for this is the changing global investment dynamics and the precautionary measures that businesses are taking," says Kartik Narayan, CEO—Staffing, TeamLease Services.

In the services sector, the hiring outlook is highest in Telecommunications (96%), followed by financial services (93%) ecommerce & allied start-ups (89%), retail (87%) and education services (83%). In the manufacturing sector, the hiring outlook is highest in healthcare and pharmaceuticals at 91%, followed by FMCG at 89%, as well as EV and Infrastructure (73%). From a sectoral perspective, the hiring intent for the services sector is at 91% and for the manufacturing sector, it is 85% in the Metro & Tier-I cities. Tier-1 cities like Delhi (95%) and Mumbai (92%) in the services sector and Mumbai (98%) and Chennai (91%) in manufacturing are thriving mainly across Financial Services, Telecommunications, Information Technology and Manufacturing, Engineering & Infrastructure, FMCG, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical respectively.

In the Q1 of FY24, the demand for skilled workers increased by 3% and 4% for the services sector and manufacturing sector, respectively. In contrast, in Q1 April to June period of FY23-24, the intent to hire for blue-collar job roles decreased by 6% for services and 8% for manufacturing, while the engineering function increased slightly.

"Looking at the current 5G rollout, adoption and increasing number of use cases, the telecommunications sector in India is seeing an increase in infrastructure investment to meet the growing needs of both local and global clients. As a result, telecom companies plan to invest ₹2,000 crore in the construction of large hyper-scale data centres, resulting in steady growth and job creation for blue-collar, gig, and grey-collar workers," says Mayur Taday, Chief Buisness Officer, TeamLease Services.

"Additionally, the information technology industry is also looking to establish data centres. While there is demand for traditional non-white-collar jobs in the sector, workforce rationalisation around the world and in India has impacted hiring intentions," adds Taday.

Employment Outlook Report by TeamLease Services

Hiring in manufacturing, services sector to increase 10% YoY in Q1FY24: TeamLease