1 million new jobs in 2008; most in Mumbai

It is good news for those fresh out of college or for those who are keen for a job change, as a leading human resources consultancy firm has predicted one million new jobs in India this year.

Ma Foi Employment Trends Survey (METS), conducted by Ma Foi, one of India's largest HR consultancy firm has predicted a 3 per cent increase in employment in 2008.

The largest chunk of the new jobs according to the survey would be generated by hospitality sector which is riding high with the tourism boom in the country.

In the city analysis, Mumbai is poised to generate the highest number of jobs, followed by Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.

"The hospitality sector will generate the maximum number of jobs in 2008. About 426,668 jobs are going to be generated by the hospitality sector. This sector is closely followed by the health sector at 295,829 jobs, and education training and consultancy with 166,005 jobs," says the survey.

It adds that an estimated $11.41 billion is expected to be seen in the hospitality sector in the next two years and that India is likely to have around 40 international hotel brands by 2011.

"The boom in the tourism industry has had a cascading effect on the hospitality sector, which was a result of the increase in the occupancy ratios and average room rates. With the demand continuing to surge, many global hospitality majors have evinced a keen interest in the Indian hospitality sector," says K Pandia Rajan, managing director, Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd.

While, information technology (IT) and information technology-enabled services (ITES) sectors continue with high growth in recruitment at 7.3 and 7.2 per cent, the survey says that it is the health sector which shows the highest growth in recruitment at 8.9 per cent.

According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the healthcare industry has emerged as one of the most challenging sectors in India. As per industry reports, the Indian health services sector is estimated to be around Rs 75,000 crore (Rs 750 billion) and is expected to grow by 170 per cent by 2012.

The survey adds that although there may be a slowdown as economic growth moderates this year, employment growth will remain highly positive this year.

Throwing light on the outsourcing trends within the country, the survey points out that at 19 per cent, the real estate and construction industry records the highest percentage of work outsourced, followed closely by hospitality at 18.5 per cent.

The survey says that the sectors where the demand for freshers is above 30 per cent include hospitality, energy generation and supply sector, ITES, and mining and extraction.

While new jobs might be generated by various sectors, when it comes to salary raise, the energy sector seems to walk away with the major pie.

"Energy generation and supply sector will experience the highest average salary increase (16.8 per cent). Other booming sectors in terms of average salary increase are IT, real estate and construction, trade and hospitality, among others," says the survey.

Ma Foi claims that the 2008 METS Report, covers the employment scenario of 22 different sectors as of December 2007 and predicts the future employment trends for 2008 in the organised component of these sectors. The survey was conducted across 2006 units spanning all major industry segments from all over the country.