Hiring intentions of Indian IT companies are expected to remain sluggish in the next six months as companies adopt a wait-and-watch policy for various global macroeconomic factors such as H1-B visa executive order and Brexit, says a survey.

According to the Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey released today by Experis IT - ManpowerGroup India, Indian IT employers expect a measured hiring pace in the next two-quarters (April-September 2017).

"With the advent of automation which is expected to impact the majority of companies, employers in India state a sluggish hiring scenario. India's IT employers are cautious about their hiring plans in the April-September time frame," ManpowerGroup India Group Managing Director A G Rao said.

Manmeet Singh, president, Experis IT- ManpowerGroup India said, "hiring outlook in the Indian IT domain doesn't look encouraging for the next few months due to various global macroeconomic factors such as the H1-B executive order and Brexit." Despite being sluggish, the hiring outlook in the Indian IT space would keep up a "steady" pace. Hiring intentions have declined by 15 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Only 58 per cent of the Indian IT employers anticipates hiring over the coming two-quarters. "IT companies are adopting a wait and watch strategy and taking alternate talent acquisition routes such as hiring temporary IT workers to cover immediate demands," Singh said.

According to the report, automation is likely to have an impact on both cognitive and manual routine tasks so people can take up non-routine chores. Singh further said, "niche and upcoming tech skills will be in demand in the coming quarters, and some organizations have even started up-skilling and re-skilling internal employees to reduce bench and improve productivity."

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