The ongoing global economic contraction has trickled down to India with recruiters adopting a cautious approach to hiring. The Monster Employment Index (MEI) registered a 6% drop in hiring activity in October 2022 vis-à-vis October 2021.
Month-on-month job postings also noted a 5% decline. This can be attributed to changing patterns in the start-up ecosystem, funding winter and fears of an upcoming recession. However, with companies ramping up internal initiatives to facilitate growth and government interventions in promising sectors, hiring projections for the coming months are expected to pick up.
Jobs in automation showcased a remarkable increase (+34%) in hiring activity with companies maximising efficiency and productivity through tech. Similarly, industries such as Banking & Finance and Telecom did well, with technology driving innovation and growth in both sectors. Artificial intelligence and Blockchain are transforming the BFSI sector, similarly the onset of 5G is transforming the growth of telecom.
Tier 2 cities such as Coimbatore and Ahmedabad posted a marginal incline in job activity on an annual basis whereas demand fell in major metropolitan cities of India.
Commenting on job trends for October 2022, Sekhar Garisa, CEO – Monster.com, a Quess company said, “Technology is no longer an element of differentiation in organisations. It is now imperative for every industry to rapidly digitise and move forward. Sectors such as BFSI and Telecom which have adopted new-age tech are now reaping rewards with increased investments and job creation. While macroeconomic conditions have pushed companies to adopt a watchful approach to hiring, the need for skilled talent is unlikely to ever go away. Hence, it is important that today’s workforce upskill and reskill themselves on an individual and organisational level.”
Key industries such as Telecom and Finance continue on an upward hiring incline
While there has been a noticeable slowdown in hiring among industries following months of robust job demand, key sectors such as Automation, BFSI and Telecom continue to show an increased intent to hire.
The sustained success of the Indian BFSI sector (+12%) has been attributed to a variety of factors including government involvement, access to technologies, and a surge in investor capital. The Fintech ecosystem in particular continues to rival markets worldwide marked by increased digital adoption in the industry, rise in neo banking and penetration in large underserved markets. The rollout of 5G services has led to a significant uptick (+9%) in the Telecom sector as well. Several players in the telecom market are expanding their digital footprint and are on the lookout for tech talent armed with specialised knowledge. This demand is majorly driven for skills such as Devops, Full stack, React Native, Cloud, Open Stack, Edge Computing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Juniper, Big Data and Python, which account for 72% of the total jobs in the sector. The Garments and Jewellery (+7%) industry also registered an increase in hiring activity followed by Retail (+5%) with increased sales due to the onset of the festive season.
However, industries such as BPO/ITES (-16%) and Media & Entertainment (-24%) continued to demonstrate a declining trend in October 2022 from the year-ago level. IT (-19%) hiring has slowed down facing increased margin pressure, rising costs and inflation. Jobs in Education (-11%) are also on the decline following major upheavals in the Ed-tech industry which is haunted by cost cuts and pressure to show profits.
In the midst of nationwide hiring downturn, job activity steadies in tier 2 cities
It is interesting to note among the locations monitored by the Index, tier 2 cities have reported a positive growth on an annual basis. Coimbatore and Ahmedabad hold steady this month with a marginal increase in hiring at 1% annually.
Among tier 1 cities, hiring remained stable in Mumbai whereas metros such as Bangalore (-11%), Kolkata (-14%), Delhi-NCR (-2%) and Hyderabad (-5%) posted a downward trend in recruitment activities. However, jobs in BFSI saw high demand across most Tier 1 cities monitored by the Index. Moreover, increased consumer demand due to the festive season has enabled the Production and Manufacturing sector to exhibit stable annual growth in tier 1 cities such as Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai.
The intent to hire in Tier-2 cities such as Baroda (-22%), Chandigarh (-16%) and Kolkata (-14%) have also showcased an annual dip.
Demand for Finance and Accounts roles grow on the back of growing digitization
In October, job posting activity in 9 out of the 11 functional areas monitored by the Index dipped. With rapid development and continued growth in Indian BFSI, demand for Finance and Accounts (+11%) professionals exceeded the year-ago level. With consistent use of new-age tech such as AI, ML, and IoT, the need for highly skilled professionals across the sector has surged and is expected to grow in the coming months. The demand for Travel and Hospitality (+1%) roles have also seen a marginal incline following the festive holiday season.
The healthcare industry in India has been subject to a whirlwind of changes since the pandemic. The 23% drop in online hiring activity for Healthcare roles could also be attributed to growing health-tech innovations in the sector as well as the drop in demand for professionals in the pharmaceuticals sector. Demand for roles in Supply chain (-20%) and Engineering/Production (-20%) contracted significantly in October 2022.
