Hiring sentiment looks up, 5-10 mn jobs may come up in 3-4 years

The Narendra Modi-led government’s maiden budget, which stresses on structural reforms to revive growth and increase employment opportunities, is already improving job market sentiments.

The Narendra Modi-led government’s maiden budget, which stresses on structural reforms to revive growth and increase employment opportunities, is already improving job market sentiments.

Headhunters, after reading the fine print, are estimating that 5 to 10 million jobs are likely to be thrown up over the next three to four years.

With foreign direct investment limits being raised in several sectors, insurance, defence, infrastructure, construction and agriculture are likely to emerge as hotspots for hiring and employment seekers, recruitment industry executives said.

Further, FDI in manufacturing sector will also boost job creation in a major way, experts said. “We expect that the new budget will help in the creation of 5-8 million jobs across sectors in the next 3 to 4 years,” said Kamal Karanth, MD for India and Malaysia at US-based staffing firm Kelly Services. “Increasing the FDI in the insurance sector will help create entry-level jobs,” he added.

Headhunters, too, echoed similar estimates. “With the GDP growth expected to reach 7-8%, in coming 3-4 years, about 10 million jobs would be created, primarily in manufacturing, infrastructure and insurance sectors,” said Pankaj Bansal, CEO at PeopleStrong, an HR consultancy.

The proposed investment of Rs. 500 crore to set up IIT’s and IIM’s is expected to meet the huge demand for skilled workforce in India. Also, the job market has given a thumbs-up to the budget proposal to educate youth with employability and entrepreneurial skills.

“The skill development academy is also a positive step towards tacking the problem of skill gap in India. The job creation and skill development will help the large percentage of the unorganised work-force move to the organised sector,” said Moorthy K Uppaluri, CEO, Randstad India, a global staffing firm.

HR industry executives also expect the micro small and medium enterprises sector to gain momentum on the back of Rs. 10,000-crore venture capital fund that has the potential to be a key job creator. “The government has done well in building confidence with global investors through their intent to be business friendly and provide a stable tax regime,” said Uppaluri.