Tier-II, III cities lead in job creation

Smaller towns have stolen the march over metros and Tier-I peers in terms of job creation.

In a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Tier-II and -III cities have emerged top job destinations during the period between April 2010 and March 2011.

The study titled ‘Current Job Trends in India’ analysed employment avenues in 56 major cities across 32 sectors from a sample of 650,000 employment opportunities during the mentioned period.

Assocham has further projected the growth of 40 per cent in India’s job market, especially Tier-I and -II cities.

Creating about 254,000 jobs, Tier-II cities registered 39 per cent rise during 2010-11. Bulk of the employment avenues were generated by Bhubaneswar, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Surat.

Bhubaneswar and Pune recorded a surge of 42 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, in total employment generation amongst major Tier-II centres, followed by Chandigarh, Lucknow and Surat.

Meanwhile, Jaipur, Vishakhapatam, Indore, Nagpur, Kochi, Ludhiana, Bhopal, Amritsar and Gwalior recorded moderate rise in employment generation.

Tier-III cities created over 150,000 new job opportunities posting a growth of 23 per cent. Allahabad topped the list with the growth of 70 per cent, followed by Udaipur, Agra, Ajmer, Kota, Meerut and Kanpur. Around 250,000 new jobs were created in Tier-I cities fuelling 38 per cent growth. Delhi-NCR and Mumbai ranked top with share of 39 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, in job creation, with growth of 15 per cent and 11 per cent. Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata followed.

Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said with Tier-I cities getting congested and costlier, smaller cities were vying for the attention of job seekers. “Tier-II and -III cities have grabbed lion’s share of 62 per cent in aggregate job creations during the last financial year. These small and medium sized cities will fuel India’s growth in the coming years,” he noted.