New Delhi, Sept. 12: India could see a 42 per cent growth in organised sector jobs on the back of strong hiring activities in finance, insurance and real estate sectors, according to a global survey.

The survey, conducted by global recruitment consultancy Manpower Inc, interviewed 4,732 employers in India, of which 45 per cent expected their staffing levels to increase while 41 per cent were expecting no change.

However, 3 per cent of the interviewed employers were expecting a decrease in the headcount, the survey said.

Though hiring intentions are strong in all parts of the country, the western region has the highest job growth potential with its net employment outlook (NEO) being placed at 49 per cent by the survey. This is an increase of 8 percentage points from the same quarter last year and 14 percentage points on a year-on-year basis.

The survey says region-wise, the east has the lowest NEO at 37 per cent, which is 5 percentage points stronger than last year. Analysts consider it to be a good sign that industry is taking off after years of stagnation in the east.

On a year-on-year basis, employers in all four regions have predicted positive hiring intentions with only the west and east reporting a higher NEO compared with the same quarter in the previous year.

The survey says employers in finance, insurance and real estate reported the strongest NEO of 50 per cent, closely followed by the services sector at 45 per cent.

Of the 26 countries and territories surveyed globally under the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2006, Indian employers reported a strong NEO of 42 per cent, indicating that the strong hiring activity seen over the past six months should continue through the year-end.

Peruvian employers are the most optimistic globally with an NEO of 48 per cent.

Overall, the employment outlook is positive across the Asia-Pacific region where the most robust fourth-quarter hiring activity is anticipated in India, Singapore and Hong Kong.