New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) India’s job market is likely to return to pre-slowdown days in the third quarter of this fiscal as rising consumer spending is spurring demand for goods and services and employers are expecting to hire at a faster pace, a survey showed Tuesday.

‘With a net employment outlook of 42 percent, Indian employers report the most optimistic forecast among all 36 countries and territories participating in our survey,’ said Manpower Inc. in a report.

The hiring outlook improved a modest 2 percentage points for the quarter ending September, compared to the previous quarter, but was up 19 percentage points from that in July-September 2009.

‘The job market has recovered sharply from the weaker forecasts of early 2009. We are witnessing a notable exuberance in hiring sentiments across all industry sectors, cities and functional areas,’ said Sanjay Pandit, managing director of Manpower India.

The survey covered over 5,371 employers across India and indicates that the hiring scenario in the country will be among the most positive across the globe.

Employers in the seven industry sectors that were surveyed reported stronger outlook when compared to the third quarter of 2009.

The hiring is expected to be strongest in the mining and construction industry, with 46 percent of the respondents planning to recruit in the next quarter, eight points stronger compared to the quarter ending June.

Manufacturing too is set to recruit in a big way with about 44 percent of employers indicating their plans to do so.

However, employers in sectors like finance, insurance and real estate will see a lower number of recruitments as such sectors have reported a 3 percentage point decline in employment outlook.

Employers in the western region are the most optimistic with the outlook improving 48 percent over the last quarter, while the north will see a marginal drop.

Globally, the data showed employers in 31 of 36 countries and territories expected positive hiring activity in the third quarter with the strongest job prospects reported by employers in India, Brazil, Taiwan, China, Peru, Australia and Singapore.

‘The weakest third-quarter hiring plans are reported by employers in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Greece,’ said the survey.