Hiring in India increased 11% in Q1 FY2022: Report

Hiring in India increased by 11 per cent in Q1 FY2022, according to the latest India Hiring Tracker by job site Indeed.

The hiring tracker mapped the quarterly job market activity to June 2021.

As overall hiring increased over the previous quarter, Information Technology (61 per cent), Financial Services (48 per cent), and BPO/ITeS (47 per cent) witnessed standout growth.

The job market has begun to witness signs of recovery from the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Large businesses led the way in terms of hiring activity (59 per cent of employers), while hiring by mid-sized businesses saw a decline (38 per cent), the report said.

Overall, fewer surveyed employers were hiring between April-June compared to the previous quarter (42 per cent vs 64 per cent).

Bangalore continued to lead hiring (56 per cent) while Kolkata replaced Chennai at the bottom of the hiring list (34 per cent).

In terms of specific roles, there was an increase in the demand for Sales and Marketing roles.

"Receding Covid cases and partial lockdowns in Q1 FY '22 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 Q4FY’21," the report said.

Roles such as Sales Coordinator (83 per cent of all employer respondents), Relationship Manager (77 per cent), Digital Marketer (69 per cent), UI/UX Designer (61 per cent),, and Quality Analyst (53 per cent) were the most in demand.

Job-seeker priorities

The number of job seekers and job changers grew slightly over the previous quarter, from 68 per cent to 70 per cent, with 52 per cent at entry level, 44 per cent mid-level and 18 per cent senior level.

Additionally, jobseeker priorities also shifted. For 25 per cent of jobseekers, 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 most preferred 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 the quarter than during the previous quarter (38 per cent).

However, employers and employees were not on the same page when it came to future work models. Employers preferred a hybrid work model (42 per cent) to remote work (35 per cent), while jobseekers preferred remote working (46 per cent) over a hybrid approach (29 per cent).

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.

Key challenges

The second wave of the pandemic has resulted in some key challenges in terms of understaffed teams and increased employee burnout.

Additionally, 76 per cent of the jobseekers surveyed did not receive Covid-related benefits/compensation packages or mental health support.

Appraisal plans were also impacted. 70 per cent of employees claimed that they did not receive any promotion or pay increase this quarter while 11 per cent of employers promoted employees or offered salary increases.

Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, Indeed India said, “As businesses continue to find a rhythm of working through multiple pandemic challenges, the tracker reflects 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,” added Kumar.

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