According to a report by Naukri.com, the retail segment, which has been badly impacted on account of the lockdown restrictions, is bouncing back gradually with an uptick in hiring of 15 percent in September when compared with the previous month. However, the hiring activities are still down by 50 percent compared to the corresponding month a year ago.

The sector is showing a slow but steady sequential recovery but the sector is likely to bounce back further during the festive season in the country, it added.

"As more public spaces have opened up keeping social distancing in mind, we see movement pick up in retail spaces. Hiring is also picking up accordingly," the report added.

The Naukri retail hiring report is based on hiring activities in the sector on the job site's platform.

Meanwhile, the top roles that recruiters are hiring for include retail store manager, sales or business development manager, merchandiser, software developer, tech architect, designer, and accountant. Roles such as logistic manager, interior designer, warehouse assistant, and tech lead have seen 100 percent, 66 percent, 44 percent, and 42 percent growth in demand year-on-year.

Keywords like logistics and retail sales executive are up by 247 percent and 500 percent in recruiter searches for the sector, it added.

The report further stated that there has been an upward trend in hiring activities in the Internet sector with a sequential recovery from July onwards. This is backed by various stages of unlocking along with the huge demand from consumers for daily essentials through online ecommerce channels.

Major hiring to prepare for the festive season is indicative in August but has become flat through September, it added.

Even though the internet or ecommerce industry started seeing a decline in hiring since the start of the year, when compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, the portal predicts a  high recovery; the sector is down by only 7 percent in September compared to February. Even digital marketing and pay per click specialist roles have seen an annual growth of over 40 percent, it added. 

The same sentiments were also espoused by data from job site Indeed, which revealed that job seekers' interest in ‘contract or temporary jobs’ jumped by 150%, while postings for these jobs increased by 119% between January and July 2020. While retail is making a comeback, it will become clear post the festive season only how much of the sector bounced back from the impact of the pandemic.