Hiring up 11% sequentially in June quarter, IT tops with 61% growth: report

Other sectors that showed standout growth include financial services (48%), and BPO/ITeS (47%)

In a sign of recovery in the job market coming out of the second wave of Covid-19, hiring in India saw a 11 per cent growth on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis during the April to June period of the current financial year, according to  a report by the Indeed India Hiring Tracker.

Among the sectors, information technology (61 per cent), financial services (48 per cent), and BPO/ITeS (47 per cent) showed standout growth. Large businesses continued to dominate hiring activity (59 per cent of employers), while hiring by mid-sized businesses saw a decline (38 per cent). Overall, fewer surveyed employers were hiring  between  April-June compared to the previous quarter (42 per cent vs 64 per cent) with Bangalore continuing to lead hiring (56 per cent) and Kolkata replacing Chennai at the bottom of the hiring list (34 per cent).

The report indicated that receding Covid cases and partial lockdowns  in first quarter allowed businesses to operate, focussing employers on roles driving sales and revenue--a shift from the focus on operational roles to stabilize business operations in fourth quarter of the previous financial year. Roles such as sales coordinator (83 per cent of all employer respondents), relationship manager (77 per cent), digital marketer (69 per cent) and quality analyst (53 per cent) were the most  in demand.

According to Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, Indeed India, as businesses continue to find a rhythm of working through multiple pandemic challenges, the tracker has reflected the resilience of India’s labour market.

"With hiring activity seeing a month-on-month increase, it was interesting to see businesses pivot their hiring priorities from operation roles to sales roles. It’s also clear that paying attention to employee expectations will enable them to thrive, so ongoing conversations around wellbeing and hybrid work are vital," Kumar added.

The report said that the widespread impact of the Second Wave resulted in understaffed teams and increased employee burnout. However, 76 per cent of the jobseekers surveyed did not receive Covid-related benefits/compensation packages or mental health support. Around 70 per cent of employees said that they did not receive any promotion or pay increase this quarter, with only 11 per cent of employers promoting or offering salary increases.

Employers and employees aren’t on the same page when it comes to future work models. Employers preferred a hybrid work model (42 per cent) to remote work (35 per cent), while jobseekers favoured remote working (46 per cent) over a hybrid approach (29 per cent). Around 51 per cent of women compared to 29 per cent of men said they wanted to continue working from home, while 52 per cent of senior management preferred working from home, compared to 36 per cent of middle level and 31 per cent of junior level employees, it said.

 The number of job seekers and job changers increased slightly over the previous quarter (70 per cent versus 68 per cent), with 52 per cent at entry level, 44 per cent mid-level and 18 per cent senior level. Jobseeker priorities also shifted, with 25 per cent saying salary was their primary focus, followed by career growth (19 per cent), learning opportunities/challenges/responsibilities (16 per cent), and company reputation (14 per cent).

Startup-SME jobs were the top picks for post-graduates (44 per cent) and mid-level job seekers (42 per cent). While preference for roles in MNCs/Large companies (43 per cent) was marginally more widespread during Q1FY’22 than during the previous quarter (38 per cent).