Hiring activity slows down across sectors in August

Hiring activity in India slowed down across sectors in August amid economic uncertainty as companies' recruitment plans were mainly focused towards replacement-hiring, says a report.

The Naukri Job Speak Index, which tracks monthly hiring activities online, stood at 1,206 in August, down 9% over the previous month, indicating caution in the business and recruiting environment.

"Hiring is bound to come under pressure in an unstable macroeconomic environment," said Hitesh Oberoi, the Managing Director and CEO of Info Edge (India) Ltd, which owns job portal naukri.Com.

He added that in such a situation most companies focus only on replacement hiring. "Hopefully the worst will be behind us soon and the market will start looking up in the second half of this year."

For most of the sectors, the hiring activity took a dive on month-on-month basis. Pharma sector saw the highest dip with the job index going down by 14% in August 2013 over July 2013.

Defending the broader market sentiment, software services and construction showed growth of 9% and 8% respectively as compared to the previous year.

The report further noted the cautious hiring approach is reflecting in the demand for professionals across sectors.

Hiring for engineering and production professionals saw the maximum dip on a month on month basis (around 17-18%).

Moreover, demand for professionals in HR, sales and accounts also showed a dip in hiring numbers in the range of 5% to 10% in August this year over July.

A city-wise analysis shows that all the top cities have seen lower hiring numbers over the last one month; Kolkata has witnessed the highest dip in hiring activity with the index going down by 20% in August over July.

Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have also exhibited dip in hiring levels in the range of 4% to 9% this month.