Job opportunities up across sectors

The 2010 Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey stated that the optimism that started during the beginning of the year 2010, strengthened further in July to September and was expected to grow further during this last quarter.

Trade, Consumer and Retail Services sector
Between July and December 2010, the Trade, Consumer and Retail Services sector was expected to be generating an additional employment to the tune of 19,400. After being severely hit by recession and suffering a huge setback in both domestic and international markets, the sector has started looking upward again.

A strong upward looking economy, coupled with the increase in income level and the festive season has also played an important role. This was reflected in a significant increase in employment during the 3rd quarter as well as expected higher addition to the employment base in the fourth quarter.

The increasing middle and upper class consumer base will increase the potential for the retail sector in India’s tier II and III cities. The greater availability of personal credit and a growing vehicle population to improve mobility, will also contribute to a growing trend of annual retail sales of 11.4 per cent. The India Retail Report for the third-quarter of 2010, forecasts that the total retail sales will grow from US$ 353 billion in 2010 to US$ 543.2 billion by 2014.

Transport, Storage and Communication sector
Between July and December 2010, Transport, Storage and Communication sector was expected to be generating an additional employment to the tune of 22,400. Telecom still remains one of the India’s fastest growing sectors and continues to generate new employment opportunities across the country.

Transport sector has shown significant improvement in hiring scenario compared to the previous quarters. The production of commercial vehicles has shown an impressive growth during the second quarter, which has resulted in generating employment in the transport sector.

A strong GDP growth, along with increased manufacturing and trade related activities is expected to provide an opportunity to a larger traffic movement, both in passenger and cargo. This will create the
momentum for improved activity level in the transport sector, resulting in further addition of jobs to this sector.

Media & Entertainment sector
Between July and December 2010, the Media and Entertainment sector was expected to generate an additional employment to the tune of 58,200. The media sector has also grown significantly during the second quarter and is expected to grow at a higher scale in the coming months. The key reasons favouring the rapid growth of the Indian entertainment and media sector are the demographic and economic factors. With a majority of the population below the age of 35, and increasing disposable income in Indian households, the average spend on media and entertainment is likely to grow further.

Radio is expected to grow at 12.2 per cent over 2010-14 while the Internet is tipped to grow by 20.1 per cent over the next five years. Gaming is another component which is expected to grow at 25.2 per cent in the next five years. Television advertising is expected to grow 20% in 2011 and print advertising by 7%.

Large scale opportunities lie in those sub-areas that
are expected to grow the fastest over the next few years, namely, in the development of digital distribution platforms for TV such as DTH, digital music platforms, digital media advertising
(internet, mobile and digital signage) and global cinema content.