The information technology (IT) sector remained the preferred area for candidates looking for job opportunities despite the turbulence in the segment, according to data from Indeed.
Production/manufacturing, sales and marketing roles were the other preferred options, said employment specialist firm Indeed in its recently released hiring tracker, which has insights on hiring trends.
The data showed that 61% of the surveyed employers engaged in hiring between April and June quarter, which resulted in an 8% increase in white-collar hiring.
The survey included data from 1,109 employers and 2,517 jobseekers or employees. The data covered many cities, sectors and big and small organisations.
Irrespective of the sector, there was an increase in demand for skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and communication, along with technical skills, in the changing workplace. Given the spate of layoffs recently, Indeed’s data showed that 62% of those surveyed either were laid off or witnessed it among their peers, leading to more job competition and financial insecurity.
Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales at Indeed India, said, “The findings from our Q2 2023 hiring tracker provide valuable insights into the current state of the job market. The IT sector remains strong, and there is a clear demand for specific skill sets. Tech and soft skills will continue to play a significant role as candidates navigate the digital boom.”
There were fewer openings for new graduates and the skill requirements have also changed.
Besides, research across multiple data sources showed that the locations for some early career jobs were no longer in just the metros. In fact, the Indeed data showed that non-metro cities and tech hubs like Hyderabad (37%) and Pune (39%) were now hotspots of demand for freshers.
The Indeed data said the white-collar job market in India was looking mixed in the coming months. Tech skills would be in demand, conversation on the future of work — like hybrid, remote versus at-office — would be more common, and continuous learning would be the key.
Meanwhile, the Indian Staffing Federation’s data from April to June showed that the staffing industry grew 12.5% in the last quarter. The research showed that global capability centre hiring showed some green shoots in tech but that might not make up for the dip in IT services’ hiring numbers.
The federation reported some hiring growth in BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), fintech, cloud, cybersecurity and data analytics.
In terms of flexi-hiring, the federation reported that its 110 members added 1.34 lakh people to the formal workforce in 2023-24 on a year-on-year basis. Sectors such as FMCG, e-commerce, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, logistics, banking and energy drove some of the employment demand.
As we had reported in our articles, the e-commerce sectors are seeing a boost in festival-related hiring; but some of these jobs would be temporary gigs.
As we step into the last quarter of this calendar year, we will keep delving into overall and sectoral trends in hiring across roles to help professionals across career stages.
