The demand for professionals with over 20 years of experience reported a rise of 17% during January 2017. It is interesting to note that these senior professional have seen a consistent 10% rise in demand in the last three months (Nov’16-Jan’17). This is reported by the latest RecruiteX – the recruitment index by TimesJobs. However, the overall hiring momentum slowed down by 4% in January 2017

“Focus on Infrastructure, Technology and Manufacturing in the recently announced Finance Budget 2017 is likely to further boost the demand for senior professionals across these sectors. It is encouraging to note that the Finance Minister has also given a major push to the Skill India initiative, however, job-creation remains a big challenge," says Nilanjan Roy, Head of Strategy, Times Business Solutions.

Key takeaways 

• Demand up by 17% for senior professionals with over 20 years of experience
• Law & Legal services sectors report a 20% rise in talent demand
• Demand for Biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals rose by 24%
• Among metros, Bengaluru was the only major metro to witness a rise (1%) in demand 

 
Senior professionals in demand

"Most jobs that are being created are at a ten-fifteen thousand rupees, retail or a call center level. But job opportunities remain scarce for highly skilled young engineers and technology professionals entering the workforce each year. We need to be able to offer them opportunities commensurate with their skills, for India to become a true knowledge economy," adds Roy.

However, none of the other experience categories saw a rise in demand during the month. Demand for freshers posted a 10% drop in demand. This category of professionals with less than 2 years of experience has seen a 7% drop in the past three months.

Legal & law top hiring sector

Law & Legal services were the top hiring sectors for the month, followed by the financial accounting sector. The legal & law industry posted a 20% rise in talent demand in January 2017. The accounting sector also witnessed a 12% rise in talent demand during the month. The Media & Entertainment sector posted a 2% rise in demand while IT and telecom sectors reported stable month-on-month demand.

Biotech & Pharma professionals in demand

Biotechnologists and pharmaceutical professionals saw a whopping 24% rise in demand in January 2017. These highly specialized niche professionals have witnessed an average rise of 10% in demand since November 2016.

In addition, as a result of increased hiring activity in the legal & law industry, demand for lawyers and legal professionals also grew by 21% in the month. Quality and process control professionals posted a 4% rise in talent demand, while professionals in petrochemicals, oil & gas domains saw a 3% rise in demand during the month.

Bengaluru witnesses growth in talent demand

Among metros, Bengaluru was the only metro to report growth (1%) in talent demand. The city has also posted an average rise of 2% in talent demand over the last three months. Among other major locations, Chandigarh saw a 3% rise in talent demand, followed by Jaipur with a 2% rise. Arunachal Pradesh was the best performing state with a 12% rise in talent demand during January 2017.