India leads global hiring confidence for October-December quarter: Report

India leads global hiring confidence for the October-December quarter of this year as a significant number of employers are planning to increase staffing during the period, a report said on Tuesday. 

According to staffing firm ManpowerGroup’s latest Employment Outlook Survey, India’s employment outlook strengthened in the last quarter of this year, driven primarily by expansion by companies, while expected decreases are led by automation, technology and economic challenges.

The survey of 3,055 employers conducted from July 1 to 31 across India indicated that the country’s Net Employment Outlook (NEO) for Q4 CY2026 stood at 54 per cent.

The Net Employment Outlook (NEO) is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

Around 65 per cent of employers in India plan to increase staffing between October and December, compared with 11 per cent anticipating reductions.

Among the participants, 24 per cent expect staffing levels to remain unchanged.