Indian IT players to hire 360,000 freshers for FY22: Unearthinsight study

With attrition continuing to rise Indian IT players have been rushing to the campuses to hire more freshers. According to a study by Unearthinsight the IT services industry will hire around 360,000 freshers for FY22.

The report, IT Industry Q3 Insights & FY22 Forecast expects about 350,000-360,000 freshers to be added in FY22 by over 30 IT Services firms accounting for 14-18 per cent of the freshers in total headcount, therefore, aiding margin control, attrition control and growth both globally and in India. 

In order to retain talent, companies announced several measures like salary hikes, stock options, promotions, long-term incentives, higher skill increments, and upskilling/reskilling training. These are being implemented across quarters, not together. The report said an 8-12 per cent average wage hike by Tier-1 and 2 IT competitors and 15-20 per cent of employee promotions for retention have been done.

Attrition maintained its uptrend reaching 22.3 per cent this quarter, up from 19.5% in the last quarter. This increase continues to be driven by the rising demand for new-age digital skills across industries.

Attrition remains a key challenge which companies continue to address on a priority. Companies continue to counter this trend though. The UnearthInsight report estimates that 56-57 per cent employee costs/wage bill (Excluding contractors) across Tier-1 and 2 players and this is expected to go up by 0.5-1 per cent in FY23.

Gaurav Vasu, Founder and CEO, UnearthInsight said, “While the industry’s wage bills are on an upward trend, attrition levels continue to be a matter of concern and are likely to continue for another quarter before they start improving from next FY. On the technology side, key IT firms are witnessing excellent growth in their Cloud and Product & Platform business whereas penetration of low-code and no-code platforms is gaining significant momentum.”

Note: Cognizant hiring numbers are for Calendar Year (CY)