As per the latest Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2019, professionals from IT industry command the highest salaries, while Bengaluru has retained its position as the highest paying city in the country. According to the report, the average annual cost to company (CTC) in Bengaluru for talent across junior level stood at Rs 5.27 lakh, Rs 16.45 lakh for mid-level and Rs 35.45 lakh for senior level.

Bengaluru had topped the list in 2017 and 2018 Salary Trends report as well. Meanwhile, Hyderabad (Rs 5 lakh) and Mumbai (Rs 4.59 lakh) took the second and third spots for junior level roles, Mumbai (Rs 15.07 lakh) and the National Capital Region (Rs 14.5 lakh) for mid-level roles and Mumbai (Rs 33.95 lakh) and Pune (Rs 32.68 lakh) for senior roles respectively, the report noted.

The report also revealed that professionals from IT industry received the highest average annual CTCs at the junior level (Rs 4.96 lakh) and senior level (Rs 35.84 lakh).

For senior professionals, Digital Marketers emerged as the highest-paid functional role, with an average annual CTC of Rs 35.65 lakh. In addition, with demand for GST compliance specialists, accountants, management consultants and lawyers on the rise, the professional services sector ranked as the second-highest paying sector for junior and senior levels.

The report also highlighted the 'Hot Jobs for 2019' with Compliance Specialists topping the chart with an average annual CTC at Rs 31.09 lakh, followed by Python Specialists with a CTC of Rs 20.24 lakh, Hadoop Specialists at Rs 19.01 lakh and Specialist Doctors with a CTC of Rs 18.01 lakh.

Randstad India MD & CEO Paul Dupuis stated, “Talent with the "right-fit" skills commands a significant premium over their peers and companies are not constrained by bell curves and averages when it comes to the salary structure for professionals with in-demand skills, evidenced by the findings of this report.”

The Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2019 analyzed 1,00,000 jobs across 15 industry verticals and functions, spread across eight major cities. With the renewed demand for professionals with digital skills -- cloud, product management, analytics, AI and automation – it is no wonder that the IT sector still came on the top of the charts when it comes to compensation packages. However, in order to have the right fit skills, reskilling has assumed even greater importance in this sector given the way automation is changing this industry.