Private sector job creation strongest in 18 years: study

NEW DELHI: Strong activity in manufacturing companies and services sectors led by new orders and global sales pushed private sector jobs to an 18-year high in June, a survey showed on Friday.

The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, which measures monthly growth in the combined output of India’s manufacturing and services sectors, rose from 60.5 in May to 60.9 in June, indicating a faster pace of growth that was significant by historical standards and at average over the last 12 months.

Increase

The growth was stronger among producers of goods than among service providers – as the study showed, this trend has been visible since February. Private sector companies attributed the strength to new business demand and gains as total new orders rose sharply and to a greater extent than in May.

In June, the number of new export orders increased for the twenty-second month in a row. Despite slowing since May, the pace of growth has been sharp and the second fastest since the series was released in September 2014. Study participants cited gains in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Americas, Europe and West Asia.

The survey results showed that mild capacity pressure remained evident in June as private sector companies continued to signal higher backlog volumes. Attempts to catch up and meet increasing production demands led to an increase in overall employment. The study found that the pace of job creation was the fastest in more than 18 years.