The Naukri JobSpeak Index for April 2020, at 951, marks a decline of 62% in hiring activity as compared to April 2019 at 2,477, led by the nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Naukri JobSpeak Index (M-O-M)

The April’ 2020 decline in hiring is led by industries like Hotel/Restaurant/Travel/Airlines (-91%), Auto/Ancillary (-82%), Retail (-77%) and Accounting/Finance (-70%). The job market across cities registered a double-digit dip in hiring. The decline was led by metros wherein Delhi declined by 70% followed by Chennai (-62%), Kolkata (-60%) and Mumbai. (-60%). There was an across the board decline in hiring at varied experience levels with the entry-level experience bands (0 to 3 yrs exp) witnessing the sharpest decline of 67%. 

Key Highlights of Naukri JobSpeak for April 2020 vs April 2019

Hiring Trends - Industry

Besides de-growth in hiring in Hotel/Restaurants/Travel/Aviation by 91%, other key industries that showed a decline in hiring activity in April’ 2020 versus last year same time were - Auto/Ancillary (-82%), Retail (-77%), Accounting/Finance (-70%), BFSI (-67%), BPO/ITES/CRM/Transcription (-60%) and IT-Hardware (-60%).

However, hiring activity in Pharma/Biotech/Clinical Research (-54%), IT-Software/Software Services (-49%) and Insurance (-42%) was less impacted as compared to other industries in April’ 2020.

Hiring Trends – Functional Area

New jobs for professionals in the Ticketing/Travel/Airlines, Hotel/Restaurants and HR/Administration sectors witnessed a dip of 95%, 89%, and 78% respectively. Functional roles in Purchase/Supply Chain (-70%), Marketing/Advertising (-69%), Sales/Business Development (-69%) and Accounts/Finance (-68%) also witnessed a steep decline. 

However, new jobs for professionals in the IT-Software (-51%), BPO/ITES/KPO (-54%), Pharma/Biotech/Healthcare (-57%) and Teaching/Education (-56%) sectors were less impacted as compared to other sectors in April’ 2020.

Hiring Trends - Experience

Hiring across experience levels was also impacted in April 2020. The hiring for entry-level executives (0-3 yrs. exp.) and senior-level executives (4-7 yrs. exp.) saw a dip of 67% and 62% respectively. The middle management roles (8-12 yrs. exp.) roles declined by 55%, senior management roles (13-16 yrs. exp.) declined by 53% and leadership roles (16+ yrs. exp.) declined by 50%.

Hiring Trends - City

Recruitment across cities saw a double-digit dip during the month of April’20. Some of the hiring trends observed across key cities are as follows -

• Delhi/NCR: Hiring activity in the capital city witnessed a decline of 70%. The Hospitality and FMCG industries saw a dip in hiring by 96% and 81% respectively. Recruitment activities across all experience levels saw negative growth. The demand for professionals in Hospitality (-97%), Accounting (-78%) and Banking (-64%) sectors marked a substantial negative growth. 
• Chennai: Recruitment activities in Chennai dropped by 62%. The demand for professionals in the Hospitality, IT-Hardware, and IT-Software industry saw a decline of 98%, 81%, and 62% respectively. Hiring across all experience bands saw a double-digit decline with hiring for the entry-level executives (0-3 yrs exp) seeing the sharpest decline of 70% in April 2020.
• Kolkata: The city saw a dip of 60% in recruitment activity. The Hospitality (-99%) and Auto/Ancillary (-89%) industries contributed to the downfall in industry hirings. All experience bands recorded negative growth. The demand for professionals in the Hospitality and Accounting sectors saw a decline of 91% and 77% respectively.
• Mumbai: Recruitment in Mumbai decreased by 60% in April 2020. Hiring in the Hospitality and Auto sectors saw a dip of 94% and 84% respectively.  The recruitment activity across experience levels saw a dip of an average of 61%. The demand for professionals in roles across the Hospitality and Banking sectors decreased by 96% and 70% respectively.
• Hyderabad: Hiring in Hyderabad decreased by 57%. Hospitality (-94%), Auto (-86%) and Accounting (-79%) industries contributed to the overall decline in industry hirings. Hiring across experience levels saw a dip of an average of 51%. The demand for professionals in the Hospitality and Accounting sector witnessed a decline of 91% and 77% respectively. 
• Bangalore: Overall hiring activity in Bangalore witnessed a drop of 57%. There has been a dip in hiring across all experience levels. Hiring in the Hospitality and Accounting sectors saw a decline of 91% and 74% respectively. The demand for professionals in the Hospitality, Banking, and IT-Software sectors saw a steep decline of 89%, 66% and 56% respectively.
• Pune: The city saw a dip in recruitment activity by 55%. The Auto/Ancillary (-88%) and Hospitality (-78%) sectors contributed to the downfall in industry hirings. The demand for professionals in the IT-Hardware and Pharma industries recorded a decline of 74% each. Amongst experienced bands, Pune saw a negative growth across experience levels of an average of 48%.