Hiring new people, it seems, will not be a full swing activity in early 2007 as companies are going to be slightly more cautious on recruitment in comparison to the first quarter of 2006, if a survey conducted by global staffing firm Manpower is to be believed.



Interestingly, finance, insurance and real estate companies, which are on robust growth path, are cautious on the hiring front, while mining and construction firms are bullish on recruitment. Hiring intentions are slightly more cautious in the next three months against the previous quarter, but remain strong.



Despite this forecast, Manpower does see a strong outlook for jobs in the country in the coming quarter, saying that hiring activity in India has shown a considerable increase and the country was ranked just behind Peru and Singapore.



In fact, about 41% of the 4,742 employers surveyed hoped their staffing levels would go up in the January-March quarter of 2007, whereas a mere 2% felt a dip, the findings indicated, adding that half of the respondents saw no change.



Talent acquisition firm Kenexa, which provides recruitment and retention solutions, said recruitment is also cyclic and strongest in the fourth quarter of the calendar year.



The hiring trend in India is going to strengthen further in the year ahead as new verticals like retail and life sciences are set to fuel the job market. IT would continue to steal the show with tech firms having big hiring plans. There would be a 30-40% growth in the domestic job market â₉€œ courtesy of the private sector.



The realty boom is aiding job market too. A large number of proposed infrastructure projects have led to a great demand for engineers, technicians, officers and managers in the realty sector.



Knowledge process outsourcing is another sector that is set to offer jobs. In the banking sector, bulk hiring is expected to continue and there is a very high demand for experienced professionals to manage the wealth of high net worth individuals as well as retail investors.