The k-shaped recovery has a positive impact on corporate India’s hiring sentiments and if harsh covid curbs are not imposed in ways that hurt business operations, then the intent to hire among companies can rise by up to nine percentage points in the current quarter ending March 31. This would be the highest-ever growth to be registered in the intent to hire since the outbreak of the pandemic, says the TeamLease Employment Outlook Report for the January-March 2022.

“Out of the 21 sectors reviewed, around seven can record a growth of more than 10% point in their intent to hire, making the current quarter a good time for talent. Still, the outlook needs to be read in the context of looming risk from a resurgent Omicron variant,” says the report.

 IT retains pole position in intent to hire

According to the report, 89% of the companies (20 percentage points higher than in Oct-Dec, 2021) expressed interest to hire, with Information Technology (IT) leading the pack. This is the fourth consecutive quarter wherein IT has retained the pole position in the intent to hire.

The other sectors that will likely be on a hiring spree in the current quarter are Educational Services (80% of the employers), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (71% of the employers) and Ecommerce & Technology Start-ups (69% of the employers)

South India fast emerging as a leading job creator

From a city perspective, Bangalore is in the pole position. Nearly nine out of 10 employers in the city are keen on ramping up their talent pool. Bangalore topped with a 21% rise in intent to hire over the last quarter. Another interesting highlight from the research is that with three out of the top five cities coming from the region, South India is fast emerging as a leading job creator.

 “The current economic indicators like the K-shaped recovery of the economy, improved capacity utilisation to counter the supply disruptions that were caused by the pandemic, increase in private investments and the rising exports all have the potential to fast track hiring momentum. Though IT function and technology-linked firms will continue to dominate the job creation eco-system, if further lockdowns are not imposed, other roles and sectors will not be far behind. In fact, out of the 21 sectors, 17 have indicated a growth rate of more than 5% - 11 more sectors compared to the previous quarter – indicating the employment scenario is on recovery mode across sectors,” said Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services.

Junior-level talent most sought-after

As per the report, the focus on hiring freshers seems to have tapered off. Instead, junior-level talent or talent with 2-5 years of experience is the most sought-after profile in the current quarter.

More than 46% of the employers (+12% growth over previous quarter) are looking to hire junior talent. Further, from a function point of view, sales (71%) and IT (61%) continue to rule the functions that are in demand.

Attrition sees a sharp increase across sectors

There is a sharp increase in attrition across all sectors compared to the previous quarters. Four sectors with 8%+ attrition rates include information technology, educational services, healthcare & pharmaceuticals and knowledge process outsourcing. “All sectors appear to have higher attrition rates than in the previous quarter, indicating that a shift in employee perspective and work dynamics could be potential causes for the same,” says the report.

The TeamLease report surveyed 829 small, medium and large companies spanning 21 sectors in 14 cities across India.