Companies likely to increase hiring in first three months of 2021
Recent surveys predict that hiring in India Inc will increase in the first three months of 2021. There will also likely be salary hikes and increments, a pick up from deep salary cuts due to the pandemic last year
After almost three quarters of cost-cuts and layoffs, India Inc will increase hiring in the first three months of 2021, according to various employment surveys conducted amid reports that the unemployment rate in December had soared beyond 9 per cent. There will also likely be salary hikes and increments, in contrast to the deep salary cuts that was witnessed during the pandemic last year.
The ManPowerGroup India’s outlook survey conducted in December involving 1,500 employers across the country predicted an increase in hiring activity in the first three months of 2021.
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A TeamLease survey, which included over 800 companies across 21 sectors, said 27 per cent of the companies that participated were willing to hire in the first three months of the new year.
Surveys have also predicted hiring for white-collar jobs in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. One study  said that hiring in tier-2 cities increased by more than 60 per cent in December last year, and will likely increase this year.
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Also, 87 per cent employers who responded to global professional services firm AON’s survey said they are willing to give salary increments this year. The industries that are likely to give more salary hikes are hi-tech, IT, information technology enabled services, life sciences, e-commerce, professional services and chemicals.
The survey also said that companies said they will likely give an average salary hike of 7.3 per cent as against 2020’s 6.1 per cent, an all-time low since 2009.
However, 60 per cent of the companies said they will give salary hikes between only 5 per cent and 10 per cent.
The positive projections in hiring has been ascribed to the Indian government’s immunisation drive to fight COVID, which is likely to be rolled out soon. The government has already conducted dry run for vaccinations.
