· 21 out of 27 industries monitored by the Index witnessed positive year-on-year growth in February 2022 as compared to February 2021
· Provisions in the Union Budget lead to the recovery of sectors such as Shipping/Marine and Production/Manufacturing (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2021)
· All cities showcased optimistic hiring patterns with Delhi leading the charge (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2021)
· HR & Admin roles witness continued uptick (20%) as companies look to resume work from physical offices (Feb 2022 vs Feb 2021)
· Freshers and Intermediate roles note highest intent to hire in Feb 2022 as compared to the previous month
Mumbai, 10 March 2022: Demand for talent surged 7% year-on-year in February 2022, showcasing the positive impact the announcement of the Union Budget 2021- 2022 had on the economy.
According to the Monster Employment Index, the most reliable and comprehensive job analysis report by Monster.com, a Quess Company, hiring activity significantly increased in the past 6 months with a 2% incline, while February 2022 saw a monthly uptick of 3% in hiring activity (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2022).
Across industries, February 2022 saw BPO/ITES showcasing a strong (11%) growth owing to the increased adoption of digitization across industries. The demand for roles in Shipping/Marine (9%) and Production and Manufacturing (9%) witnessed a surge as well due to the announcement of the Maritime Vision 2030 and the renewed focus given to employment generation and expansion through the PLI scheme and PM GatiShakti. Further, demand remained steady for professionals across almost all levels of experience which augurs well for the India economy. It is encouraging to note that all cities monitored by the Index saw an uptick (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2022) in hiring.
A year-on-year (Feb 2022 vs Feb 2022) comparison indicates that industries such as Automation/Office Equipment (103%) continue to grow as the economy opens up, followed by the BFSI (27%) and Printing/Packaging (23%). Moreover, Top Management roles continue to lead annual hiring demand across experience levels.
BPO/ITes, Shipping/Marine and Production & Manufacturing exhibit optimistic hiring trends in February 2022
The BPO/ITes industry has posted an exceptional (11%) growth reinforcing India’s positioning as the world’s prominent outsourcing destination. The BPO industry contributes close to a tenth of the national GDP making the sector an imperative part of the Indian Economy. Despite the advent of the third wave, the Shipping/Marine industry, boosted by Maritime Vision 2030, is shrugging off the slowdown caused by the virus by posting an impressive 9% growth. Production & Manufacturing (9%), Automotive/ Ancillaries / Tyres (8%), and Chemicals/ Plastic/ Rubber, Paints, Fertilizer/ Pesticides (7%) showed an uptick as well. It is also encouraging to note that industries that observed a dip in January have seen an uptick with Travel & Tourism (4%), Education (4%) slowly coming back into commission with the easing of curbs. Real Estate (4%), FMCG, Food & Packaged Food (4%) and Healthcare (4%) have also seen a revival as compared to previous months. The Banking/Financial Services (2%) and IT-Hardware, Software (1%) have also seen a steady incline month on month offsetting their stance as one of the prominent industries of India. On the other hand, the Engineering, Cement, Construction, Iron/Steel (-8%) and Agro based (-5%) sectors showed the steepest monthly decline in job postings, followed by Media & Entertainment (-4%), NGO & Social Services ( -3%), and Retail (-2%) indicating only a partial recovery (Jan 2022 vs Feb 2022).
On a year-on-year basis, hiring demand saw an incline in 21 out of 27 industries monitored by the Index. Office Equipment/Automation (103%) continues to chart growth following the increased adoption of technologies across sectors to drive greater value and efficiency (Feb 2022 vs Feb 2021). BFSI (27%) remained one of the strongest sectors by the way of long-term growth due to the increase in banking transactions and consequent investments in new age tech, while Printing/ Packaging (23%) too saw a positive growth momentum in online job demand. It is heartening to notice the rise of the Shipping/Marine (19%) and Telecom (19%) industries which were undoubtedly boosted by the provisions laid down by the budget. The tech sector continues to fare well and proves industry estimates of rising growth, with the IT (Hardware/ Software) and BPO sectors posting an 18% and 17% growth respectively. Industries such as Healthcare, BioTechnology & Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals (9%) and Retail (8%) exhibit optimistic growth trends. However, the Engineering, Cement, Construction, Iron/ Steel (-23%) industry saw a dip in hiring in February 2022 due to the global supply chain crisis while a sequential decline was observed in hiring demand across Media & Entertainment (-13%), FMCG, Food & Packaged Food (-8%), and Education (-1%). While Travel & Tourism has shown an encouraging trend month on month, it has been slow to recover (-5%) on an annual basis following the shutdowns and travel restrictions owing to the advent of the Omicron virus.
All cities chart impressive recovery in February 2022 post the advent of the third wave
All 13 cities monitored by the Index saw a positive uptick in job postings with Delhi (13%) leading the charge followed closely by Mumbai (8%), Ahmedabad (7%), Chennai (7%), Hyderabad (6%), Coimbatore (6%), Bangalore (6%) and Jaipur (6%). While the previous month witnessed significant dips in hiring fearing shutdowns and restrictions, it is promising to see the revival of hiring across all cities including Kolkata (5%).. Baroda has also undergone a significant revival as compared to the previous month posting a 5% increase in hiring demand (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2022).
In February 2022 as compared to February 2021, Coimbatore (21%) accounted for the highest growth, followed by Bangalore (20%), Chennai (17%), Mumbai (16%), Pune (15%), Hyderabad 14%), and Kolkata (12%) while Delhi-NCR (11%) moved up the ladder registering substantial annual growth this month. Demand for talent remained negative across the cities of Chandigarh (-12%), Jaipur (-5%), Baroda (-4%), and Ahmedabad (-3%). BFSI clocked the highest growth across all metros with Delhi looking to replace Mumbai as the financial capital of the country showing an incline of 81% year or year while the latter posted a 53% growth. The IT-Hardware, Software industry also charted double digit growth across all the five major metropolitan cities.
Travel & Hospitality roles emerge with the highest intent to hire shrugging off the effects of the third wave
Buoyed by overall industry growth, the demand for senior management has seen a 10% growth month and month. Roles in Hospitality & Travel too have registered a similar (10%) incline with the lifting in travel restrictions across the country. Sales & Business Development (7%), Finance & Accounts (6%), HR & Admin (6%), and Customer Service (3%) followed with positive growth numbers. However, Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain roles showed a 4% dip, while demand for roles across Engineering/Production and Health Care noted muted growth (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2022).
Online hiring demand (Feb 2022 vs Feb 2021) for roles in Finance and Accounts (26%) saw the highest uptrend given the rise of the BFSI industry in India. HR & Admin (20%) roles have witnessed an increased intent to hire as more and more organisations resume physical offices as compared to last year. Software, Hardware, Telecom (19%), Senior Management (14%), and Marketing & Communications (1%) also saw a positive trend year-on-year. Alas, demand for certain roles continue to witness an annual decline such as Sales & Business Development (-14%), Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain (-10%) and Customer Service (-10%), Arts/Creative (-6%), Engineering/ Production (-3%), Healthcare (-3%), and Hospitality & Travel (-2%) personnel saw a consecutive drop in hiring activity this month.
Fresher and Intermediate roles witness highest intent to hire in the month of February 2022
Across experience levels, entry level professionals (0-3 years) witnessed a steady incline (2%) in hiring activity which heralds good news for the graduating batch currently entering the workforce. The hiring demand for Intermediate level professionals (4-6 years) charted the highest growth at 3% while there was a marginal increase in demand for Senior (11-15 years) and Top Management (>15 years) professionals both registering a growth of 1% each. Mid-Senior (7-10 years) exhibited stable growth over the month. It is promising to note that as compared to previous months, there has been no decline in demand for talent irrespective of their experience levels (Feb 2022 vs Feb 2021).
Data from the Index indicates that demand for Top Management roles (over 15 years) has seen a spectacular year-on-year growth of 42% as companies continue to seek senior level professionals who can tide companies through instability(Feb 2022 vs Feb 2021). The demand for Mid- Senior professionals (7-10 years) registered an uptick of 25% , followed by hiring demand for Intermediate level (4-6 years) at 22% and Senior (11-15 years) level professionals at 14%. Demand for freshers grew but only marginally at 5% annually.
Sekhar Garisa, CEO – Monster.com, a Quess company said, “The Indian economy has successfully overcome the impact of the third wave of the pandemic with several industries and all cities showing recovery patterns, especially in Travel and Education this month. The economy has stabilized and it is also heartening to see the revival of industries such as Shipping and Manufacturing which have received a much needed boost with the announcement of the Union Budget 22-23. The cities too have witnessed an upward trend in the demand for jobs and with the gradual opening of the economy, this is likely to continue.”
Period for the report
The period considered for the MEI data is 1st to 28st February 2022.
