There has been a positive momentum in hiring across sectors in India, especially in the travel and hospitality sector, which witnessed a 357 per cent growth in hiring sentiment this year, compared to May 2021.
India showed promising signs of economic recovery in May 2022, with hiring across key sectors witnessing an upward Y-O-Y (year on year) trajectory and a stable sequential trend. As per the latest 'Naukri JobSpeak May 2022 Index', the surge in hiring activity showed positive momentum, recording more than 40 per cent Y-O-Y growth in May 2022.
Retail, real estate and insurance were also among sectors that witnessed a significant Y-O-Y growth in May 2022. Sectors such as BFSI, education, auto, oil and gas, FMCG, and IT software services too showed growth in hiring.
Increase in hiring numbers was seen across all key cities, with Delhi leading the charts. The demand for talent in metros and non-metros remained steady as all cities indicated a double-digit Y-O-Y growth in May 2022. Among the metros, Delhi registered the highest Y-O-Y growth, closely followed by Mumbai. Other metros, including Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad, also showed positive Y-O-Y growth.
An optimistic hiring sentiment was observed across all tier-II cities, with Jaipur leading the growth in demand for talent. Other emerging cities, such as Coimbatore, Vadodara, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh also showed double digit Y-O-Y growth.
The report showed that employers have shown their intent to hire freshers and across all experience levels. The demand for entry-level talent exhibited the steepest rise in May 2022 vs May 2021. A positive hiring sentiment was observed for other experience brackets also.
“The recruitment landscape continues to stay resilient and is sustaining the momentum 2022 ushered in. The job market has shown stable sequential trends that is substantially ahead of last year baselines. The secular nature of trends, cutting across metros as well as non-metros, experienced professionals as well as freshers, is again a good indicator of this strong hiring sentiment,” remarked Pawan Goyal, chief business officer, Naukri.com.
However, going ahead it will be a mixed bag for the hiring momentum, and there may even be a few challenges. “The current inflation situation, some of the IPOs having gone a bit lackluster and our stock market sentiments lacking the bullishness have alarmed many employers in the core sectors of our economy. As a result, we think that the hiring in these sectors will see a dip of 5-10 per cent dip in Jun-Jul. IT services and technology companies continue their hiring efforts, given the strong demand from global markets. Though there is a spotlight on layoffs in the startups, the fact is that hiring pace as a whole has not cooled down,” Aditya Narayan Mishra, director and CEO of CIEL HR told THE WEEK.
Mishra said e-commerce and supply chain companies continue to hire at a brisk pace given the sustained pace of online purchases and the upcoming festive season. “During the pandemic, many agencies downsized their manpower because of all the Covid restrictions and travel bans. Now that many countries have lifted the ban, fights started operating and travelers are welcomed with new packages, companies have started rehiring for roles that were laid off. The holiday season also added to the increase in demand for employees in this sector. We see a significant growth in hiring in sectors of tourism, travel, hospitality and entertainment.”
HR experts believe that the overall hiring sentiment is undergoing a transformation post pandemic and is expected to improve further. “The ecosystem at large is undergoing a correction, and from an HR perspective, I see things from valuations to salaries to expectations getting much more realistic and that is good for everyone. Hiring is always a hot topic in the tech ecosystem. With all the current news of layoffs flowing in, we are glad of some of the decisions we made early on. In our organisation, we have chosen to remain lean and not hire by tags and badges. We have a rigorous three round interview process during which both the parties have enough time to figure out whether they are a good fit in the long run” said Neetha Thomas, vice president, human capital and administration, LogiNext.