Net Employment Outlook (NEO) stands at 40 per cent for India, says the Manpower Group Employment Outlook report for the first quarter of 2025. So has the outlook changed for the country? Yes, it has. India Outlook has increased by three percentage points in comparison to the previous quarter, and also the same time last year, when it was 37. In 2023, it was 32 per cent and in 2022 it was 49 per cent.
The good news is that the net employment outlook—arrived at by subtracting employers planning to reduce headcount vs. those planning to hire—is the strongest for India at 40 per cent, while 25 per cent is the average NEO, globally. The NEO is 34 per cent for the US, 29 per cent for China, 28 per cent for the UK, 26 per cent for Canada, 25 per cent for Singapore, 24 per cent for Germany, 15 per cent for Japan, 11 per cent for Australia and -1 per cent for Argentina.
The hiring expectation for Indian employers with over 5,000 employees is a significant 48 per cent, while for those with 1,000 to 4,999 employees is 46 per cent. Companies with 250 to 999 employees report a hiring expectation of 48 per cent, while those with 50 to 249 employees report a hiring expectation of 38 per cent. Companies with 10 to 49 employees report a hiring expectation of 31 per cent, while those with less than 10 employees report 22 per cent.
The brightest outlook is reported in the information technology sector where the outlook has improved by four percentage points, to 50 per cent compared to last quarter. This is also six percentage points more than what was reported during the same time last year. This is followed by the financials and real estate businesses that show a hiring outlook of 44 per cent. While the employment outlook is 40 per cent in the goods and services space, it is 38 per cent in the energy and utilities space. Healthcare and life sciences also show an employment outlook of 38 per cent. Thirty-six per cent is the employment outlook in the transport and logistics sector, followed by 35 per cent in the industrial and materials sector, 30 per cent in the communication services space and 25 per cent in other sectors.
Western India reports the strongest employment outlook of 43 per cent, while southern India shows the weakest hiring intentions at 38 per cent although this is 11 per cent more that what was reported in the last quarter.