Indian labour market looks up as new job postings on record high number

News on India’s job front is starting to look up after COVID-19 dragged down hiring numbers drastically. The Indian white-collar market logged 330,000 active job openings in May, the highest number in the last 30 months, according to LinkedIn and other data.

As per the Monster Employment Index (MEI), the Indian job market recorded a 15% year-on-year spike in hiring demand in April and 4% month-on-month owing to positive business sentiment.

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The global job site Indeed found in a survey that the Indian labour market is witnessing a positive momentum as new job postings in India are seeing a record high number. New job postings in May 2022 saw over 33% growth above the pre-pandemic baseline (February 2020). This showcases the increase in demand for hiring across several industries.

Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales for Indeed India, noted, “People are returning to their offices, firms are resuming operations, consumption is increasing, and life is returning to normal. Majority businesses are confident in their ability to deal with future pandemic waves. It feels like the labor market recovery has really found its footing.

It feels like the labor market recovery has really found its footing

“Job growth continues to accelerate, and more workers are finding jobs or starting to pick up their job search. Sectors tied to the reopening of the labor market are leading the way, giving some hope that these gains can continue in the months ahead.”

The recent news does reveal a few positive occurrences in the field of hiring.

In April, AI SaaS startup SuperBot announced increasing its manpower by around 300%, taking its currently strength of 55 to 200 by the end of fiscal 22-23. Restaurant supply chain food SaaS startup SupplyNote too announced 100% increase in talent pool in the next two quarters.

In April, One Moto India, the British premium 2-wheeler EV manufacturer in India, announced increasing manpower by 150% in its first hiring drive in India, taking its current workforce number from 35 to 100 by the end of fiscal.

Recently, Glamyo Health, a healthcare brand announced that it will double its employee strength to over 300 professionals to be hired within the next two months.

In times when the attrition rate at Indian companies was expected to increase (19%), companies looking for talent comes as a cheer to many.

Where are the post-COVID Indian jobs?

Indeed says increase in job postings is strongest in marketing (188%), followed by civil engineering (177%), sales (72%), and architecture (63%).

When the pandemic began, marketing budgets were the first to get cut. However, last year, brands and companies polished customer demand for digital experiences, probably leading to an increase in demand for marketing.

Increase in job postings is strongest in marketing … Last year, brands and companies polished customer demand for digital experiences, probably leading to an increase in demand for marketing

Sadly, COVID-19 continues to show negative impact in sectors such as beauty and wellness (-57%) and food preparation and service (-54%), which continue to degrow. The reason is that most of the roles in these sectors include in-person jobs, which are yet to meet their pre-COVID demand.

Job Market Looks Good Despite Inflation

The Indian economy and the labour market aren’t without challenges, with high inflation perhaps the biggest near-term challenge currently. Rising inflation has been driven by higher business costs, which could potentially impact the ability of some Indian businesses to pay higher wages or hire additional staff, especially startups.

“In the current times, startups are facing pressure from investors’ community to focus more on the profitability aspect. The startup market was witnessing an upwards trend for almost for over one year, however, due to the extended pandemic travails and a global economic slowdown maintaining the margins has become a challenge for many startup models.

If one company is laying off, other ventures are hiring heavily to create a required balance in the job industry

“This is majorly the case with the offline models working heavily with the physical sales workforce where maintaining RoI becomes a major challenge amidst market tussles. These customary trends in the industry occur now and then and are expected to get better with time. If one company is laying off, other ventures are hiring heavily to create a required balance in the job industry,” says Gaurav VK Singhvi, Co-founder, We Founder Circle and a profound angel investor.

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However, overall job postings on the Indeed platform have increased by 38.6% since the onset of the pandemic, indicating an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year. Overall, India job postings have exceeded pre-COVID levels since September 2021.