Hiring to fall short of expectations by 30 per cent

New job generation in the organised sector is expected to fall short of predictions by 30 percent this year following the global meltdown, a leading recruitment company said here Wednesday.

"As per our survey of 1,000 companies in 22 sectors early this year, around one million new jobs were expected to be created in 2008. But after the global meltdown coupled and domestic issues like high inflation, it will be 30 percent lower than expectations," K. Pandia Rajan, managing director of recruitment firm Ma Foi Group, told reporters.

According to him, there is deceleration in hiring. "Companies are playing a wait-and-watch game. They say there could be reverse or flat growth in hiring in the coming months," Rajan said.

As per a Ma Foi dipstick survey, large companies have slashed new hiring by around 22 percent, though layoff is the least preferred option.

"Employee benefits have taken a hit in the banking, financial services, insurance and information technology (IT) sectors," Rajan said.

As per the survey, sectors such as construction, real estate and consultancy have been badly hit, where as healthcare and pharma sectors could end up witnessing healthy hiring trends.

There is no single reason that has affected hiring across sectors.

"In the case of banking and financial services sectors, the stock market crash seems to have affected fresh hiring, whereas for other segments, inflation and the rise in input costs are some of the reasons," Rajan said.

According to him, around 400,000 permanent jobs may become temporary, which augurs well for flexi-staffing companies.

He said Ma Foi, now part of world's second largest recruitment group Randstad of the Netherlands, will offer specialised solutions to expand its market share.

Source: EconomicTimes