Rupee singes, companies put hiring plans on backburner
With the rupee in a free fall and the economy teetering amid variables, the already dim hiring sentiments of companies in India have been dented even further. Himani Chandna Gurtoo reports.
With the rupee in a free fall and the economy teetering amid variables, the already dim hiring sentiments of companies in India have been dented even further.
The beginning of 2012 had brought optimism to the job market, but the ongoing global uncertainty and the slowing of capital inflows have had the effect of applying the brakes.
The health of hiring in July is the weakest in 17 months, as per Monster.com’s employment index. A similar sentiment was also revealed in Naukri.com’s Hiring Outlook Survey, where only 62% recruiters anticipated new jobs to be created in the second half of 2012, as compared to 72% at the beginning of the year.
“August to November is the most important period for the job market, where people change jobs and companies open up positions. This time, no company is opening up hiring,” said Sangeeta Lala, vice-president, TeamLease.
The worst-affected sector is media and entertainment, followed by home appliances, printing, packaging and shipping, among others. The banking sector has seen the highest month-on -month dip with hiring activity going down by 16% in July when compared to June.
Senior management has seen the steepest annual decline of about 56%.
However, sectors such as ITES, telecom and insurance have seen a mild increase in their month-on-month hiring. Still, the overall hiring for these sectors is much lower than pre-recession levels. “Companies dependent on foreign debts and imports will not hire much anytime soon,” pointed Hitesh Oberoi, managing director, Info Edge India, the company that owns Naukri.com. “However, weakening rupee is good for job creation if domestic industry strengthens itself to reduce dependency on imports.”
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