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Unemployment is a major hurdle in India’s growth path. Reducing unemployment was an announced goal of the incumbent NDA government as it came to power. As per the Economic Survey (2015-16), the rate of unemployment has increased from 3.8% in 2011-12 to 5% in 2015-16. Only 6, 41,000 jobs were created from July 2014 to December 2016 in the eight major sectors which are manufacturing, trade, construction, education, health, information technology, transport and hospitality.

Specifically, jobs created by the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which generates employment in rural and urban areas by initiating new micro enterprises and small projects, had fallen by 24.4% from 428,000 in 2012-13 to 323,362 in 2015-16. The Modi government did try to initiate many schemes to boost employment in India. An example can be ‘Make in India’. However, expected results have remained elusive. However, economist and former Vice-Chairman of the Niti Aayog, Arvind Panagariya has refuted claims of jobless growth. He has gone on record saying that India grew at 7.3% in the last four years.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report titled, ‘World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018’, the unemployment rate in the country will stand at 3.5% in 2018 and 2019 which is at same level of unemployment seen in 2016 and 2017. In its 2017 report, the ILO had projected unemployment rate in India to be at 3.4% in 2017 and 2018. According to the ILO’s new estimates, based on improved data sets and methodologies, the global unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 5.5% in 2018 from 5.6% in 2017. However, with a growing number of people entering the labour market, the total number of unemployed is expected to remain stable in 2018 and will be above 192 million.

‘Hiring, Compensation & Attrition Trends in 2018-19’ by Genius Consultants

Genius Consultants recently undertook a survey on ‘Hiring, Compensation & Attrition Trends in 2018-19’. The survey that spanned across two months derived its data from 881 top organisations across various industries and analyses data from one lakh database to uncover developments in the fastest growing professions related to human resources in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar and Pune. R.P. Yadav, the Chairman and Managing Director, Genius Consultants Ltd., informed BE, “According to our unique research report, the premium findings show that Indian industries are witnessing more pronounced sub-segment differences within industries.”

This survey enjoyed participation from corporate brands like Siemens India, CESC, Bosch, Emami, Larsen & Turbo, Delloite, Edelweiss, Shapoorji & Pallonji, Lawrence & Mayo and many others.

Major highlights of the survey:

• According to the survey, 57.14% of the respondents say that both new and replacement hiring is expected across industries.
• A figure of 42.06 % corporate houses say the projected increase in manpower strength for FY 2018 -19 in their companies will be between 1% and 15%.
• 53.17% of the companies believe 1–5 years’ work experience levels will have the most opportunities in the FY 2018-19.
• 20.65% of consultants affirmed that the major candidate sourcing avenue is through job portals.
• 33.33% of HR professionals feel that candidates having 1-3 years of experience faces the major bottlenecks in recruiting.
• 5-10% is the range of increment that 41.27% of corporates are expecting.
• Projected trend in hiring male and female candidates in 2018-19 was 57.77% male and 42.23% female.
• 65.08% of the participants informed that anticipated attrition level will be between 5%-15%. But 39.68% of junior level employees are more exposed to attrition.
• The southern zone has been projected to have the brightest hiring scenario for organizations and industries at 32.54%.
•  A whopping 68.25% of survey takers consider that background check is very crucial before recruiting.

R. P. Yadav informed BE, “Around 15-20% of the students gets jobs through campus placements. Internet portal is the convenient source for all the employers. The ratio of male and female in jobs is on a healthier trajectory in HR and administration related jobs, research, ITESs and BPO centres.”