5% rise in non-tech white-collar jobs in June, no respite for IT sector

While the core sector showed a positive sentiment, hiring in the country's IT services sector fell to its lowest level since December 2020

The white-collar jobs market showed signs of revival in June as the demand for talent rose by 5 per cent (compared to the last month) for the first time in the current fiscal, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. The uptick was led by a rise in hiring activity in non-tech sectors as economic indicators showed positive signs.

While the core sector showed positive sentiment, hiring in the country's IT services sector continued to be abysmal and fell to its lowest level since December 2020, the report said. The reason behind the slowdown in hiring by IT firms is believed to be the cost-cutting measures undertaken by their customers in big markets like the US and Europe. IT firms have been unable to add new clients as the economic outlook towards the sector continues to be unexciting.

Citing data from a staffing firm Xpheno, ET reported that the total active white-collar jobs in June stood at 230,000, thanks to the rise in opportunities in sectors such as telecom, manufacturing, construction, real estate, hospitality etc.

Anandorup Ghose, partner at Deloitte India, was quoted in the report as saying, “Core sector economy companies are hiring in reasonable numbers amid positive domestic economic indicators such as growth in manufacturing PMI, a decline in the rate of WPI inflation and lowering of interest rate hike expectation.”

However, the IT sector is trying to recover from the banking crisis in the West that led to a meltdown leaving many startups without funds.

Hiring in the non-tech sector is likely to pick up pace by the end of the year, and the war for talent that made 100 per cent hikes a norm in the IT sector is unlikely to repeat in the near future, Ghose added.

Chief Economist at Bank of Baroda, Madan Sabnavis, also shared similar views and told ET that while jobs in the non-tech sector will rise, accelerated growth in the jobs market is unlikely to happen.