BANGALORE: India among top 6 markets for reliable workforce globally India is among top six markets for contingent workforce engagement across the world largely owing to high availability and cost efficiency, says a Manpower Group report.

Hong Kong is the highest ranked for contingent workforce engagement globally, followed closely by the United States and China.

New Zealand and Singapore follow China to make up the top five markets for contingent workforce management globally, according to the second Contingent Workforce Index (CWI) released by Manpower Group.

The CWI measures and tracks the relative ease of sourcing, hiring and retaining contingent workforce in 75 countries.

Using a proprietary formula, countries are ranked on their overall environment for contingent workforce engagement across four categories: availability, cost, regulation and productivity. In terms of contingent workforce availability, India was ranked second in the list ahead of the United States, Thailand and Vietnam. China topped the chart with the highest contingent workforce availability, while with regards to cost efficiency,

India has been ranked the most cost efficient. "India's average monthly wages for contingent labor are significantly lower than many competing countries ($ 121.37 per month)," the report said adding that at just $0.68 per hour, average wages for contingent manufacturing labor in India are particularly favorable compared to other countries.

The report further noted that the top five markets for contingent workforce engagement in the Asia Pacific are India, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.

China has the largest contingent workforce of the top five countries, with more than 156 million people in its contingent workforce, while India has the second largest contingent workforce in the region, with more than 82 million workers.

Though India benefits from being the most cost efficient country, with the lowest manufacturing wages of any country in this study, the country also has the lowest productivity of all leading countries in the region, primarily due to the number of total days of leave permitted.

Interestingly, Singapore, which topped the chart in terms of productivity ranking, has a six day workweek and an eight hour workday. Moreover, it has a relatively low (18 days/year) number of holiday and leave days, the report said.