Headhunting Is A $1Bn Industry Now
Outsourced hiring, or hiring through third party recruiters, will be an over $1 bn industry this year. It grew slowly initially, but in 2005-2006, the business saw exponential growth, posting a turnover of Rs 3,922.32 crore, against Rs 630.98 crore in the year before. The industry this year is seen to be growing at about 40 pct. So by the fiscal-end, it would go well past $1 bn, according to a study by the Executive Recruiters¡¯ Association (ERA). The ERA has culled out information on manpower recruitment in consultation with 93 different service tax collection points across the country, the major commissionerates being Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Since recruitment firms pay service tax, the annual figures are arrived at on the basis of the tax paid. The study looked at performance of the recruitment industry for last nine years.