According to the latest Monster Employment Index, industries and cities witness robust recovery with the end of the third wave. All cities showcased optimistic hiring patterns with Delhi leading the charge (Feb 2022 vs Jan 2021). 

The report states that the BPO/ITes industry, which contributes close to a tenth of the national GDP making the sector an imperative part of the Indian Economy. has posted an exceptional (11%) growth reinforcing India’s positioning as the world’s prominent outsourcing destination. 

Industry data

The findings reflect that 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).

Hiring trend

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. 

Jon Roles

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.

City Index

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. 

Commenting on the index, Sekhar Garisa, CEO - Monster.com, 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.”