According to the Naukri Job Speak report for April, the first month of this financial quarter got off to a positive start with hiring activity up by 12% when compared to that of April last year. The Job Speak index moved up to 1,193 in April from 1,170 in March. The index is a monthly evaluation of online job demand.
Sectors like IT-software and banking are moving ahead while other sectors are still on the path to recovery. The index for IT sector was highest in April at 1400 since July 2008 and hiring activity was 18% higher when compared to that of March.
Commenting on the report Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO, Info Edge India said, “While hiring in certain sectors has slowed down, most companies are still cautiously optimistic as good talent is difficult to find. Therefore, we do not expect hiring to slowdown in the coming months.”
Coming to an industry-wise analysis, the job index for sectors like IT, banking, pharma and auto has seen positive growth in the last few months and their indices are above the 1000 point.
On the other hand, the indices for insurance, construction, telecom and BPO sector are 75%, 38%, 19% and 16% lower when compared to levels in July 2008. However, sectors like telecom and insurance sectors have seen an increase in hiring activity over the last three months. The hiring activity in the media sector has been 9% higher in April when compared to that of April last year. Another sector that has shown upward movement in April is the pharma sector.
A functional area analysis of the report indicates that the demand for professionals in sales and IT has increased with the indices of April being 19% and 27% higher than that of April last year. Areas like HR and production have also witnessed positive movement in their hiring activity. On the other hand, professionals in project management and marketing have seen less demand in the job market. Other sectors like accounts and finance, marketing and advertising and banking and insurance also saw an increase in demand for personnel.
A city-wise analysis of the hiring trends indicates that all the major metros except for Mumbai have witnessed a double digit percentage increase in their hiring numbers in April when compared to that of April last year. This is mainly due to the surge in hiring in the IT sector.
Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai has seen an increase in hiring activity in April at 36%, 19% and 17% respectively when compared to that of April last year. Apart from the metros, tier one cities are also seeing an increase in hiring based on a year on year analysis.
Coming to the demand for professionals based on years of work experience, senior level professionals (above 16 years of work experience) saw a minor 2% dip in hiring activity, while professionals in the 0-3 years and 4-7 experience bracket saw an increase in hiring activity by 4% and 2% respectively in April compared to that of April 2011.
Coming to employee preference of freshers in the engineering and non-engineering sectors, government and PSU jobs are the new attraction for B.E/ B.Tech - Non IT students. The most preferred employer being DRDO in this sector.
In the private sector, IBM and Infosys were the most preferred employers by both engineering (B.E/B.Tech) as well as non engineering graduates (BSc/BBA, BA. BCA) students. Both these companies have emerged as the top choice in employer preference charts for the second year in a row.
In the survey conducted by first naukri.com, where more than 2000 engineering and non-engineering graduate students were questioned on their employer preferences, the respondents mentioned job profile, growth prospects and brand image as the factors that influence their choice of employer. The respondents also revealed that alumni and parents influence their choices during campus interviews.
While the report for April indicates positive trends in hiring compared to the previous months, the job market is expected to show cautious optimism when it comes to hiring at least for the coming few quarters. This is because of the uncertain economic environment at the global level.
However, trends indicate that the Indian job market will see encouraging growth compared to other countries in the coming quarters thanks to indications of hiring picking up in certain sectors.
Hema.G
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