The Top job sectors in India

The hottest job sectors in India

Good time for job seekers!

Looking for a job? Well, this is the best time to be in India. India will see over 1 million new jobs this year said the Ma Foi Employment Trends Survey.

Ma Foi, one of India's largest HR consultancy firms, has predicted a 3 per cent increase in employment in 2008. Education, health and hospitality sectors will see a major jobs boom this year. These sectors are likely to replace the IT sector as the largest job creator in India. The health sector shows the highest growth in recruitment at 8.9 per cent followed by IT at 7.3 per cent, ITeS at 7.2 per cent and hospitality at 6.9 per cent.

About 426,668 jobs are going to be generated by the hospitality sector. This sector is closely followed by health at 295,829 and education training and consultancy at 166,005.

When it comes to salary hikes, energy generation and supply sector will experience the highest average salary increase of 16.8 per cent. Other booming sectors in terms of average salary increase are information technology, real estate and construction, trade and hospitality. Image: Graduates from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad


India: No. 2 in job creation

India has emerged as the second most optimistic nation in the world in terms of employment outlook, with 36 per cent of employers having positive hiring plans for the April-June quarter this year.

Indian employers are the second most optimistic in the world, next only to Singapore. India shares the second place with Peru and Romania, says the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

In the Asia Pacific region, employers in Singapore are the most optimistic with a net employment outlook of 60 per cent, followed by India (36 per cent), while employers in China reported the weakest hiring forecast in the region, for the third consecutive quarter.

Employers in Costa Rica, Argentina, Poland, Hong Kong, Australia, Greece and South Africa also have favourable second quarter hiring plans.

Spain and Italy report the weakest job prospects in the next three months. The survey said that employers in all four regions in India are positive about their hiring intentions.

The southern region is likely to witness the most robust hiring pace (39 per cent), employers in the North anticipate brisk hiring activity with a net employment outlook of (36 per cent).

In case of the Western region, the employment outlook is 35 per cent and for the Eastern region, it is 26 per cent.

Hospitality is the hottest

The boom in the tourism industry has been a boon for the hospitality sector.

The hospitality sector will see the largest addition of 430,000 jobs, from 6.16 million in 2007 to 6.59 million in 2008.

"Tourism has 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," said K Pandia Rajan, managing director, Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd.

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.

Image: A view of the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur.


Health is wealth!

The healthcare sector will offer job opportunities to 290,000 more people, from 3.32 million in 2007 to 3.61 million in 2008. The Indian health services sector is estimated to be around Rs 75,000 crore (Rs 750 billion) and is estimated to grow by 170 per cent by 2012.

Going ahead, the demand for healthcare will rise, creating more employment in this sector.

Does experience matter? Yes! Experienced workers are hired more than freshers, who constitute a little more than a quarter of the newly hired.

But there are some good news for freshers, too. Sectors where the demand for freshers is above 30 per cent include hospitality, energy generation & supply sector, ITeS and mining and extraction. Real estate and construction stands out as the sector in which more than 75 per cent of the recruitments are of experienced professionals.

Image: Ten-year old Riya Manojkumar Patel (2L) is watched by H.L.Trivedi (C) and other medical staff as she examines an unidentified kidney patient at a hospital in Ahmedabad. Riya who was the recipient of a kidney donated by her mother was hospitalised in this hospital for three months and when she expressed a desire to become a doctor for a day the 'Make-A-Wish Foundation' organised the wish for her.


More jobs in the education sector

The education sector, including training and consultancy, is expected to add 166,000 employees.

In 2007, the sector had employed 10.2 million people, which could go up to 10.4 million people this year.

Companies in the production and service sectors have facing a talent crunch. Hiring more people is thus essential for companies which have initiated partnerships with private and public institutes to build up relevant skills and training.

Other hot job sectors include: IT and ITES which will add 74,693 and 56,221 jobs, respectively. Banking/finance/insurance will add 7,600 jobs; energy generation & supply will add 15,197 jobs, real estate & construction will see 47,401 new jobs being created, and manufacturing which will see over 40,000 new employees Image: A boom in education sector.


IT/ITeS: Hiring may dip, but slightly

India's largest job provider so far, IT and ITeS sector will see a fall in hiring this year. Rupee appreciation, the US slowdown and cost cutting measures initiated by the IT companies brings bad news for IT sector aspirants.

While the companies will continue to hire, it is expected to add only 130,000 jobs, taking the employee strength to 1.93 million in 2008 from 1.8 million last year.

"The trend is suggesting a slight dip in new job creations as sectors like textiles and IT have been hit by the rupee appreciation," says K Pandia Rajan.

"Last year, there was a 3.26 per cent increase in the number of jobs but it toned down to 3.05 per cent for 2008.

Major culprits for the stagnation have been the textile and IT and ITeS sectors, which could not generate enough jobs due to the currency appreciation," he adds.

Campus placements are likely to be hit this year. Mid-size and large IT and ITeS companies recruit in large numbers from engineering campuses in tier-III cities, with around 50 per cent students from these institutes getting placement offers. But due to the rupee rise, the percentage may drop to 35 per cent.

The textiles and clothing sector also faces the brunt of rupee appreciation. With an employment base of 1.5 million jobs, this sector is projected to generate only about 17,000 jobs this year.

The lowest employment generating sectors for 2008 are manufacturing of food and beverages, minerals and metal products and manufacturing of furniture.

Image: International Technology Park at Bangalore


Mumbai: Paradise for jobseekers

Which city do you live in? Is your city going to generate the maximum number of jobs? Check out!

Mumbai has always been home to millions of job seekers who migrate from different parts of the country. There is a job for everyone in the city that never sleeps.

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

The hiring story is upbeat in small cities. In terms of the percentage change in employment between 2006-07 and 2007-08, Hyderabad is the forerunner followed closely by Pune.

Bhubhaneswar is another city with above 20 per cent growth in employment.

India's growth track has changed considerably. The impact on expected employment over the next one year will be mixed.

While some sectors such as mining, minerals, food products, furniture, textiles are expected to turn in negative growth in employment, there are many sectors like health, hospitality, IT and ITeS, real estate and construction that hold much promise for job seekers.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the opportunity to work in the booming sectors. All the best!

Image: A view of the Mumbai's Marine Drive.

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/mar/12job1.htm