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Job market expects a prosperous new year with double-digit hikes

After mostly disappointing trends in 2013, the job market is looking at promising prospects in the new year and experts believe that the worst may be over on hiring front and the employees can even look forward to double-digit salary hike of at least 10-12 per cent in 2014.

Notwithstanding the continuing impact of global macroeconomic situation and the concerns surrounding India, be it elections or economic slowdown, most of the experts and HR consultancy firms are unanimous that recruitment outlook for the country in 2014 looks bullish.

 The sectors that are likely to drive the job market include IT, healthcare, education, development sector moreover the new retail banking licences are also expected to give a decent hiring trend in year 2014.

Echoing similar sentiments, TeamLease Services senior vice president and co-founder Sangeeta Lala said "in 2013, hirings went slow across mid and senior levels, recruitments were done only to replace ′key′ gaps. However, 2014 seems promising and many are forecasting elections to bring us out of this grey guessing phase."

Corporates should come out of the closet and take a stance to grow out of their shells and invest into business again, automatically leading to talent search, she added.

In the year gone by, the job market in India was not driven by global economies, it was more domestic in nature and there was a cautious optimism among employers as hiring was more specific and need based.

"Companies wanted a clear ROI on every hire, quality triumphed over quantity, selection ratios increased, candidates who could hit the road immediately were preferred, negotiations were hard and long drawn, bonus packages (joining bonus, notice period buy outs) were measured," Lala said.

The job market in India started to head North in the later part of 2013. Moreover, revival in the US labour market would mean an increase in the discretionary spends across the IT space which, in turn, would have a positive impact on the hiring prospects in the IT/ITeS sector in 2014.