Indian companies are most bullish about their hiring plans, when compared to any other country, but might turn more cautious over the next three months amid global slowdown, global staffing services firm Manpower said on Tuesday.

A slightly cautious approach is being witnessed in the current quarter with net employment outlook registering a two per cent decline on a quarter on quarter basis and this might further rise in the coming three-month period of 2008, Manpower said in its quarterly Employment Outlook Survey.

"Notwithstanding the fact that labour market in India is expected to remain dynamic, some industry sectors seem to be experiencing the first signs of a global slowdown. Employers in both the services sector, finance and real estate sector are less optimistic than they were in the last quarter," Manpower India managing director Naresh Malhan said.

Overall, the year 2008 has been a challenging year with lot of changes in various phases of the economy. Going forward a lot depends on whether we will end this year with higher inflation and depressed GDP growth," Malhan added.

Echoing similar sentiment, Manpower Inc chairman and CEO Jeffrey A Joerres has said, "The recent downturn is weighing on the minds of employers. In the coming months we will continue to see employers around the globe making do with the people they have, finding ways to contain costs and being very cautious about hiring decisions."

A sectoral analysis reveals that employers in the mining and construction industry are reporting their fifth consecutive quarter of booming hiring projections.

Mining and construction sector employers reported a net employment outlook of 54 per cent and public administration and education employers have reported least optimistic hiring intentions (32 per cent), the survey said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, employers are most optimistic with India reporting a net employment outlook of 43 per cent followed by those in Singapore (25 per cent), while employers in New Zealand (10 per cent) reported the weakest hiring forecast in the region, the survey said.

The survey includes employers across seven industry sectors -- finance, insurance and real estate; manufacturing; mining and construction; public administration and education; services; transportation and utilities; and wholesale and retail trade.

The survey revealed that fourth quarter hiring is expected to be positive in 29 of the 33 countries and territories surveyed.

Globally the most favourable hiring plans are reported by employers in India, Costa Rica, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, Colombia, Romania, Poland, Argentina, Australia and South Africa.

Conversely, employers in Spain, Ireland and Italy have reported weakest for the quarter ahead.

Of the 4,950 employers surveyed, 43 per cent expect an increase in hiring activity in the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 2 per cent on a quarterly basis and 1 per cent on a year-on-year basis.