A survey by consultancy firm Nielson unveils the positive wave that is sweeping the country. Indians top the list of global citizens who are optimistic about their job prospects and personal finances in the coming 12 months. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Report has an overwhelming 92% Indians thinking that they would land their dream jobs within the year.

The report also reveals the fact that 71% Indians believe that this is a ‘good’ time to buy, while 14% consider that this is an ‘excellent’ time for purchases. India stands first in the consumer confidence index for the current quarter, April-June 2010. While India amassed 129 points (a two point increase from last survey), the second position is occupied by Indonesia and Vietnam with 119 points each.

India and Indians should thank the healthy growth the country’s economy witnessed, despite the recessive times. Piyush Mathur, president, the Nielsen Company India said, “The positive attitude of Indians comes on the back of a robust GDP growth (9 per cent) in the April-June quarter of 2010. For the fiscal 2009-10, India’s economy grew by 7.4 per cent due to higher-than-anticipated growth in the agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors.”

The Nielson survey to gauge confidence, concerns and spending patterns of people worldwide is based on the answers given by 27,000 internet users spread over 48 countries. Indians scored the most on all parameters – job prospects, personal finances and spending outlook.

Rising food prices feature among the top concerns for Indians, while job anxieties and financial worries are relegated to the background. Terrorism, children’s education, parental welfare and global warming also are bothering Indians.

The global economic slowdown has brought in its wake an interesting phenomenon – a considerable drop in the demand for passports. With Indian economy prospering and global tourism and travel turning attractive and cheaper, this is surprising. Many reasons are being attributed to this; the below-par performance of the IT sector, slow down in trade and discontinuance of the practice of engaging cheap Indian laborers.

Though Indian economy emerged relatively unscathed from the ravaging effects of recession, most major world economies such as the US and the Europe are yet to find their foothold in the post-recessive world. This had a direct impact on new recruitment from India, whether skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. India’s status as a major manpower supplier to the world stands dented.

The IT spend in major economies nose-diving to levels unheard of, Indian IT companies too put a freeze on fresh recruitment or sending fresh recruits on assignments abroad. Moreover, recession-induced financial curbs and technological advancement prompted them to complete foreign projects with staff stationed in India.

The hotspot of migrant laborers, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, too witnessed a dramatic turnaround in gold rush, especially to the Middle East, when the practice was put on hold by most world countries due to economic worries.

Another twist in the tale emerged when Indian economy started its dream run. With opportunities galore in India, it is only natural that countrymen abandoned their quest for coveted jobs in overseas job markets.

An external affairs ministry official said that this is not a recent phenomenon and the application for new passport has been going down in metros for the past few years. However, 2010 is witnessing a revival, with the tier-III cities and smaller towns turning into new hotspots.

An impressive 3.5 lakh people is estimated to be hired by Indian establishments in the June-ending quarter. This was revealed by a survey conducted by Ma Foi Randstad, a leading integrated HR service provider in the country. The survey goes on to forecast that ‘driven by India’s economic turnaround post downturn, hiring in the organized sector is set to pick up at a greater pace in the second quarter’.

The latest survey reveals that during January-March quarter, 1,53,564 jobs were created in India and predicts that during April-June quarter, 3,47,463 jobs will be created. The year 2010 may witness the creation of around one million jobs in the country.

The most promising development in the employment market revealed by the survey results is that the hiring spree is taking place across sectors and not limited to a few. Healthcare sector lead the show in new job creation during Jan-March quarter with a tally of 52, 752. Hospitality with 21,500 and Education, Training & Consultancy with 16,200 too came up with a good show.

Forecast for April-June quarter is again lead by healthcare sector with an estimated 96,248 new jobs. Real estate and construction sector with 52,115 jobs, hospitality with 49,000 jobs and IT & ITES sector with 34,000 jobs are also expected to contribute substantially. The jump in hiring is mostly in Real Estate and Construction, Media and Entertainment and Healthcare sectors.

The surveyed companies revealed their ‘wait and watch’ hiring strategy. Most firms said that the hiring would be spread across the year to avoid risk.

Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey is the country’s largest and most elaborate employment market study. The HR service provider has been conducting this survey since 2004. The latest survey results were based on the information gathered from 650 organizations spread over 13 industry sectors in top-eight cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

India’s economic turnaround has boosted the hiring rate in the organized sector. A study conducted by Ma Foi Randstand, a global manpower consulting firm, said that 153,564 jobs were created during January-March 2010 and another 347,463 are to be added by June-end. According to Ma Foi Chief Executive K. Pandia Rajan, “The organized sector in India accounts for merely 9 percent of jobs. The government, the public sector and the private sector each contribute to one third of jobs in the organized sector. So, the positive sentiment of the organized sector should expand to the unorganized sector as well. And the pace of job creation in India, in fact, is little faster than what we envisaged in our study.”

Briefing on the city wise job creation, Rajan said that Delhi is likely be the largest employment opportunity provider with 38,350 jobs, followed by Mumbai (27,650 jobs) and Chennai (11,900 jobs). These figures were derived after surveying the employment trends in 650 companies across 13 industry sectors in eight major cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. The 13 industry sectors from which the data was generated during the survey included Information Technology and IT Enabled Services (IT and ITES), banking, financial service and institutions (BFSI), Pharma, healthcare, trade, including consumer retail service, energy, transport, storage and communication, real estate and construction, hospitality, media and entertainment. Other than these sectors, manufacturing of non- machinery and equipments, education, training and consultancy sectors were also included in the survey.