Hiring intent at India Inc. (India’s formal employment sector) slipped 4% for the first quarter (April to June 2023) when compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Employment Outlook Report from Teamlease in India.

The report showed that 64% of firms plan to increase hiring, down from 68% in Q4 2022/2023, amid global economic impacts. This possible downfall in intent to hire in the April to June quarter is attributed to the changing global investment dynamics and precautionary actions across businesses.

When compared to the same quarter in the previous year (Apr-Jun 2022), the intent to hire in Q1 Apr-Jun FY 2023-24 is still higher by 10%. This points to a healthier sentiment that employers have today compared to the post-pandemic bottoming out, Teamlease stated.

Teamlease’s report reflects hiring sentiment across 14 cities, 9 manufacturing industries and 14 service industries in India for non-white collar jobs. The ‘Intent to Hire’ statistics for Q1 is based on an analysis carried out during January and February.

In the services industry, the telecommunications sector saw the highest intent to hire in Q1 with 96% of firms planning to take on more staff, up from 94% in the previous quarter. This was followed by financial services (93%), which also increased by 5% over the previous quarter.

Within the manufacturing industry, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals saw the highest intent to hire (91%) which was down compared to 98% in the prior quarter. Hiring intent in the fast-moving consumer goods stood at 89% compared to 86% in the previous quarter.