Slowdown in hiring by 7% witnessed in May, tier-2 cities shine: Report

A 7 per cent slowdown in the hiring trend has been witnessed as compared to the same time in the previous year, a new report from Foundit revealed on Thursday. 

A talent platform that works across the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Foundit, formerly known as Monster APAC & ME, released Foundit Insights Tracker, which indicates that even though there is a general decline, positive trends were seen in tier-2 cities like Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

The report also indicates that hiring activity is declining across industries with a 4 per cent month-on-month (MoM) decline. The decline can be attributed to several factors, which include- the economic slowdown, that has led the companies to cut expenses, including hiring efforts.

A significant skill gap in the nation has also complicated the hiring process for employers by making it challenging to locate qualified candidates. Furthermore, the ongoing technological disruption is changing industries and leading to job changes, impacting hiring activity in general.

The report suggests that the HR and admin sector has witnessed promising growth amidst an overall slowdown. Among the 13 job categories that were monitored by the tracker, HR & Admin was one of the three sectors which saw an increase in demand. An 8 per cent rise in the HR & Admin roles was seen, indicating a rise in demand for experts.

Sales & Business Development (BD), and Hospitality & Travel categories experienced a slight increase of one per cent in e-recruitment. Despite their modest growth, these roles still maintained a steady demand for professionals.

Out of the 27 industries, nine sectors showed an increased e-recruitment activity from the previous year. The Shipping /Marine industry has displayed a growth of 45 per cent YoY. It reflected a thriving sector, triggered by increased port capacity, advanced technological implementation, and environmental sustainability initiatives.

However, certain industries faced challenges in terms of hiring. The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector saw a decline of 10 per cent. The dip can be attributed to the headwinds faced by the global economy, such as rising inflation, interest rates, and supply chain disruptions.

While Ahmedabad stood out among the cities that were seeing an increase in hiring, several major cities like Bengaluru witnessed a decline of 24 per cent.

Among the other cities, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Vadodara, and Kochi also experienced a decline in hiring, albeit to a lesser extent. Vadodara saw a YoY decline of seven per cent, while Coimbatore and Kochi experienced a marginal two per cent YoY decline. On the other hand, Kolkata experienced a significant YoY decline of 16 per cent despite a noteworthy MoM increase of seven per cent.