Job market recovery may slow, for now

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

job market recovery temporarily and send some potential investors into a wait-and-watch mode, said recruiters and economists. The job market is driven by sentiment and there will be a question mark over bullishness till a new normal is established, as the BJP returns to power with the help of coalition partners who will now have a stronger voice and a bigger say in any policy decisions. Investors, especially those looking to set up big projects, will be wary about instability.

“In the short term, many investors will be nervous. They’ll go quiet for a while. Policy stability will be a concern,” said Shiv Agrawal, managing director of executive search and talent advisory firm, ABC Consultants.

“Instability is never good for an economy, and eventually, from the jobs perspective.”


“Every business owner I’m speaking to is jittery,” said the head of a leading recruitment firm who did not want to be named. K Sudarshan, regional chair, Asia and MD at EMA Partners India, said the industry wants continuity and policy stability, but the perception of instability will now likely be there for some time. The government too may go a little slow on issues like disinvestment, bank reforms, etc, — unpopular moves will be put off in short term as it consumes political capital.

“Otherwise, allies are relatively stable and there is unlikely to be any significant impact on private sector capex decisions and government-led infrastructure spending. A short-term blip may be there before things settle down but irrespective of the government, the India story is here to stay,” Sudarshan said. Experts agree that this is likely to be a speedbump and that the overall India story will be intact.