India ranks sixth globally for its employment outlook for September quarter 2024, with 30 per cent of businesses planning to increase their staff over the next three months, according to a global survey by workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup.

India’s Net Employment Outlook (NEO), calculated by subtracting employers planning reductions versus those planning to hire, stood at 30 per cent. It weakened from the previous quarter and the same time last year by 6 per cent, as employers are cautious in their hiring intent for the next three months.

India ranks sixth globally for its employment outlook, 8 points above the global average. The survey was conducted in 42 countries.

Globally, Costa Rica reported the strongest hiring expectation for July-September at 35 per cent, followed by Switzerland (34 per cent), Guatemala (32 per cent), Mexico (32 per cent) and South Africa (31 per cent).

On the other hand, Argentina and Romania reported the weakest NEO at 3 per cent. In the Asia Pacific region, the country has the strongest outlook. India (30 per cent) and China (28 per cent) continue to report the strongest outlook in the region. Most cautious outlooks were reported by employers in Hong Kong (8 per cent) and Japan (12 per cent).