New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS): Although economic activities are returning to normalcy post the impact of the second wave of Covid-19, the hiring outlook for the manufacturing sector remains subdued.

Around 68 per cent of the respondents to the FICCI Manufacturing Survey for Q2 (July-September) said that they are not likely to hire additional workforce in the next three months.

"This presents a near stable situation in the hiring scenario as compared to the previous quarter Q-1 of 2021-22, where 69 per cent of the respondents maintained similar sentiments," said a FICCI statement.

The overall outlook for the manufacturing sector, however, has improved significantly in Q2 FY22.

The percentage of respondents reporting higher production in second quarter of 2021-22 was much above the 50 per cent mark, at around 61 per cent. This was significantly higher than the percentage of last year's Q2 quarter (around 24 per cent).

The statement also said that the assessment is also reflective in order books as 72 per cent of the respondents in July-September 2021-22 expected a higher number of orders in comparison to April-June 2021-22.

It further said that the outlook for exports seems improving as around 58 per cent of the participants are expecting a rise in their exports for Q2 2021-22 and 30 per cent are expecting exports to continue to be on same path as that of same quarter last year.