Manufacturing, Energy & IT Driving Job Growth: foundit Report

India’s leading talent platform, foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), has published the foundit Insights Tracker (fit), presenting the latest findings on hiring trends for February 2024. According to the tracker, there has been a gradual uptick in hiring activity across sectors, indicating a 3% month-on-month growth. Although the year-on-year comparison reflects 8% drop, the steady climb of the index from 262 to 269 within the first two months of 2024 suggests a positive momentum in employment opportunities.

Offering a hiring overview for February 2024, Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, a Quess company, says, “Through our tracker, we could trace the steady monthly growth in hiring activity. The positive momentum in certain sectors like manufacturing and energy are encouraging signs. However, freshers face a challenging landscape with increased competition and fewer opportunities. This highlights the importance of equipping oneself with relevant skills and building strong profiles to stand out in this competitive environment.”

On a month-on-month basis, job hiring trends in India continued to reflect a dynamic landscape, building upon the positive momentum observed in January. Industries such as oil-gas-petroleum, power and IT-hardware and software showed strong performance, each experiencing a 7% increase in hiring. The government’s emphasis on renewable energy and electrification projects has played a pivotal role in enhancing recruitment in the power sector.

In contrast, the IT-hardware and software sector’s bounce-back from last month’s -1% dip to 7% increase reflects a resurgence in demand for skilled professionals in these fields, driven by technological advancements. The uptick in production and manufacturing (6%) signals a robust rebound, driven partly by the impact of production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, with a substantial outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. These schemes have incentivised job creation within the manufacturing sector, contributing to the notable improvement from the stagnant growth observed last month. Travel & tourism saw a 4% growth month-on-month. While seasonal variations contributed to a slight decrease from the January’s remarkable surge, the sector saw some of the highest growth compared to all others.

Telecom/ISP (2%) and home appliances (2%) shifted from stagnation to a moderate increase this month. The expansion of 5G services necessitated an additional workforce for various functions within the telecom sector and increased consumer demand has influenced hiring in the home appliances segment.

The BPO/ITES sector witnessed a notable 4% downturn in February 2024, contrasting with its growth observed in the previous month. This decline suggests that companies in this sector are re-evaluating their operational strategies, including workforce requirements, to align with the market’s changing demands and automation. Meanwhile, office equipment/automation faced a sharp drop (-12 %), reflecting the growing adoption of digital alternatives and cloud-based solutions.

Other sectors like media & entertainment (3%), FMCG (3%) and chemicals (3%) witnessed a slight uptick, showing a gradual return to normalcy in these segments and sectors like advertising (-2%), banking/finance (-2%) and healthcare (-3%) saw a decrease, indicating a cautious approach to hiring.

The tracker revealed a diverse landscape of job hiring activity across major Indian cities, showcasing varying degrees of growth, stagnation or decline compared to last month. Cities like Coimbatore, boasting a 4% increase, demonstrated strong performance, propelled by its emphasis on manufacturing and the textile sector experiencing recent growth. Bangalore, continuing its upward trajectory with a 3% increase, remains buoyed by the sustained demand for skilled professionals in the technology sector. Meanwhile, cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi-NCR saw moderate growth of 2%, showing the influence of their diversified economies and the presence of various industries.

Conversely, major metros like Mumbai and Chennai saw slower growth at 1%, potentially attributed to higher costs of living and intense competition, making them comparatively less attractive for new businesses. Similarly, Hyderabad and Baroda reported stagnant growth at 0%, while cities like Kolkata, Chandigarh and Kochi faced declining growth, experiencing drop of -2%, -3%, and -3%, respectively.