Hiring goes downhill across all sectors

India Inc is adopting a cautious stance amid global economic crunch and rising inflation rates, as only 62 per cent of recruiters are expecting to add new jobs in the second half of this year, down 22.5 per cent from the comparable period a year ago, says a survey.

The survey by leading job portal Naukri.com has revealed a dip in hiring sentiment across sectors, with only 62 per cent of recruiters saying that new jobs will be created in the second half of 2012, as compared to 80 per cent a year ago.

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A significant number of employers (84 per cent), however, believe that jobs will be created in entry level and mid level category.

"As we witness deceleration in the economy, hiring intentions have also witnessed a more muted outlook.

"The drop in the overall hiring sentiment indicates that recruiters have factored in most of the bad news," Info Edge India, owner of job portal Naukri.com, Chief Financial Officer Ambarish Raghuvanshi said.

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Prospective in the job market has witnessed a slowdown in the second half of this year as compared to the beginning of this year as 62 per cent of recruiters anticipate new jobs to be created in the second half of 2012 as compared to 72 per cent at the beginning of the year.

However, attrition levels have cooled to some extent as low economic sentiment and decline in new job opportunities has made employees cautious about changing jobs.

According to the survey, 60 per cent of respondents said attrition level in their firm is less than 10 per cent.

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The increments doled out by the organisations to their employees this year was almost in line with expectations as 40 per cent of recruiters said the range was between 10-15 per cent and 26 per cent said the range was 5-10 per cent.

However, talent crunch has intensified over the last few months as 44 per cent of respondents said the maximum talent crunch was witnessed in the mid-level bracket (candidates with 4-8 years of experience).

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"Hiring sentiment is closely co-related to business confidence, which has dipped considerably.

"However, talented employees continue to be at a premium and finding and retaining them continues to be a challenge for recruiters," Raghuvanshi added.

The Naukri Hiring Outlook survey is conducted twice a year to gauge the hiring trends across sectors.

The survey conducted by Naukri.com with more than 1,000 recruiters across the country.