New Delhi, March 10 (IANS). Companies’ hiring plans in India look quite strong for the second quarter (April-June) of 2026. According to a report released on Tuesday, the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) has increased to a record high of 68 percent.
According to ManpowerGroup report, this figure is 17 percentage points higher than the previous quarter, while an increase of 24 percentage points has been recorded compared to the same period last year.
The report said that companies are benefiting from tax reforms under GST and expectations of strong economic growth for 2026, which is increasing recruitment plans.
According to the report, the recruitment outlook is strongest in the finance and insurance sector, which has reached 71 percent. This represents 8 points more than the previous quarter and an increase of 26 points on an annual basis.
At the same time, the biggest increase on a quarterly basis was seen in the utilities and natural resources sector. The sector’s outlook has risen 22 points to its highest level in four years, the highest since Q4 2021.
On the other hand, the hospitality sector had the lowest recruitment outlook at 31 per cent, which shows that companies in this sector are currently more cautious about recruitment.
The report said that the automobile sector is likely to see the highest growth in terms of new jobs. After this comes the IT and IT services sector.
Sandeep Gulati, managing director of ManpowerGroup India and Middle East, said the figures for the second quarter of 2026 show a dual situation. On one hand, the confidence of companies to recruit is strong, while on the other hand, the shortage of skilled talent is also increasing.
He said that about 82 percent of the companies are facing difficulty in finding qualified employees as per the requirement.
The report also notes that the hiring outlook is strongest in India’s northern region, where NEOs have reached 70 percent. This shows an increase of 12 points on quarterly basis and 26 points on annual basis.
At the same time, the sharpest improvement on a quarterly basis was seen in the Eastern region, where expectations increased by 20 points. The outlook for the sector has reached its highest level since the third quarter of 2012.
Companies across all categories, regardless of company size, are optimistic about increasing headcount. Particularly, the greatest enthusiasm was seen in large companies with 250 to 999 employees, where NEO was 71 percent, which is 15 points more than the previous quarter.
According to the report, 87 percent of companies are already using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in employee recruitment, onboarding and training.
The Asia-Pacific region has an AI adoption rate of 80 percent. In this matter, China is at the forefront with 95 percent, while India is at second place.
–IANS
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