Business News

Despite concerns over a "difficult jobs market", 70 per cent of people in India are confident of finding better opportunities next year, according to a LinkedIn survey on Wednesday. Nearly two out of three Indians (62 per cent) are optimistic about the general economic situation improving in the next 12 months, according to the inaugural edition of the LinkedIn Opportunity Index in Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The index is a composite measure that seeks to understand how people perceive opportunity and the barriers that prevent them from getting those opportunities. The research by the professional networking platform surveyed more than 11,000 respondents in nine markets in the Asia Pacific region - India, Australia, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Indonesia grabbed the top two spots on the LinkedIn Opportunity Index, followed by India. On the other hand, the more developed markets such as Japan, Hong Kong and Australia trail on the Index as people in these markets expressed concerns over economic outlook, and generally felt more cautious about their chances of achieving success with opportunities relevant to them. "Over time, by tracking people's perception of opportunity and the barriers they face, we hope we can continue to facilitate more of a balance between demand and supply in the opportunity marketplace," Olivier Legrand, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn, said in a statement. Much like in the rest of APAC, Indians consider career advancement as their main opportunity. Along with career advancement, most Indians consider learning a new skill as one of the main opportunities, and they feel working hard can help them get ahead in life. Starting one's own business is also seen as one of the top three opportunities for Indians, according to the LinkedIn Opportunity Index. One's "financial status" (31 per cent), followed by the "lack of direction and guidance" (20 per cent), and a "difficult jobs market" (19 per cent) are regarded as the three key barriers by Indian respondents in achieving opportunities, the survey showed. In digital India, 90 per cent feel that digital and social media equip them with material relevant to the opportunity they seek, and 89 per cent feel that digital and social media have helped them to learn new skills, according to the findings. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has more than 153 million members in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, including over 53 million members in India.

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