Cos cautious on hiring, await better eco scenario: Monster

Companies might be cautious in increasing their headcount now but hiring activities will pick up across sectors once the economic conditions improve, according to a leading job portal. Notwithstanding economic uncertainties, Monster.com said that hiring trends are slowly improving in various sectors including real estate and retail.

"Organisations are adopting a cautious approach. That means, when the economic situation improves, we can see an acceleration (in hiring activities)," Monster.com Managing Director (India/MiddleEast/Southeast Asia) Sanjay Modi said. "Companies are putting their faith in the resilience of the Indian economy," he told PTI.

Exuding optimism about recruitment activities, Modi said that companies are hiring for back end as well as customer-facing (front end) jobs. Faced with sluggish economic prospects and tough business conditions, many companies worldwide are adopting a cautious approach in terms of hiring new people. IT, ITeS, production, manufacturing, engineering, construction, real estate, automobiles, logistics and retail, among others, are expected to see better hiring trends, Modi said.

"Retail will have an impact all across on logistics, new technology, agro industry. It is going to have a very positive impact," he noted. Monster.com's monthly employment index -- that tracks job demand online -- witnessed a significant uptrend in September. This was mainly account of improving hiring activities in IT, retail, healthcare and engineering sectors.

When asked whether layoffs are happening in the country, he replied in the negative. "Layoffs are always organisation driven. We cannot extrapolate it to industry phenomena," he emphasised.