India’s nation-wide lockdown to curb the COVID-19 spread has brought most economic activities – including the talent demand – to a screeching stop. India Inc’s talent demand in March 2020 recorded a dip of 5% M-o-M and 2% Y-o-Y, as per TimesJobsRecruiteX report.

The year 2020 started on a cheerful note for India Inc. with the overall talent demand registering 12% M-o-M growth in January. However, as the Coronavirus pandemic spread quickly from China to India, most industries started operating remotely and the talent demand in February 2020 noted a dip. In March 2020, the talent demand dropped further owing to the nation-wide lockdown and noted a loss of 5% in M-o-M analysis.

Commenting on this finding, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The COVID-19 spread has brought in uncertain times that none of us had ever thought or imagined earlier. Professionals working in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Banking, Retail and Security sectors are working around the clock to keep things working. The other sectors have switched to the remote way of working. The recruiters and HR managers have widely adopted the digital mode for talent assessment, interviews and group discussions. In this lockdown period, more people have adopted the ‘work-from-home’ mode, and many are finding it advantageous as well. I sincerely hope that we come out of this crisis as soon as possible and normal work routines can begin for all".

Here are the key takeaways from the survey:

An in-depth analysis of talent demand in March 2020 showed that only three sectors - Retail, Accounting and IT/Telecom - saw improvements in the M-o-M study. The Retail sector noted 6% rise, Accounting sector registered 5% growth and IT/Telecom sector witnessed 2% uptick in M-o-M talent demand. Barring these, all other sectors saw a dip in talent demand. Here is the tally of March 2020, sector-wise:

• Construction/Cement (-17%)
• Automobiles/Auto Component (-8%)
• Petrochemicals/Oil and Gas (-7%)

All functional areas noted a loss in talent demand:

The IT/Telecom was the only profile to register growth (1%) in talent demand in March 2020. All other job profiles noted de-growth. Here is the tally of March 2020, functional area-wise:

• Quality/Process Control (-14%)
• Marketing & Advertising (-13%)
• Accounting & Finance (-7%)

Most locations saw a drop in talent demand: 

Hyderabad/Secunderabad noted 16% growth in talent demand in March 2020. All other cities, including the metros, saw a slump in talent demand. Following locations recorded the maximum drop in demand:

• Chandigarh (-30%)
• Ahmedabad (-15%)
• Vadodara (-12%)

Demand flattens across experience levels:

The talent demand for Freshers and professionals with less than 2 years of work experience, grew by only 1% in March 2020. Rest all other work experience categories saw a downfall in the talent demand. Here is the tally of March 2020, work experience-wise:

• 20 years+ work experience (-12%)
• 2-5 years of work experience (-10%)
• 10-20 years of work experience (-5%)