The job market has moved from an optimistic start at the beginning of the year to a deceleration in hiring activity at present. This is because of the current global uncertainty and the deteriorating GDP figures and slowing capital inflows which have all affected the domestic job market. This was indicated in the Naukri Job Speak Index for July. The Naukri Hiring Outlook Survey also echoed similar sentiments. In the survey only 62% of recruiters anticipated new jobs to be created in the second half of the year as opposed to 72% in the beginning of the year.
The Naukri Hiring Outlook Survey is conducted twice a year to measure hiring trends across sectors. The survey indicates the job opportunities in the market and also focuses on increments and attrition levels. According to the Job Speak Index for July, Mr. Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO, Info Edge India, said, “The overall recruitment market in the economy is very challenging and most recruiters are staffing smartly and are not going overboard. However, unlike the last downturn which came as a jolt, this time companies are more prepared and cautious.”
Coming to an industry-wise analysis, the banking sector saw the highest dip in jobs which went down by 16% in July compared to June. Sectors like oil and gas, software services and auto sector saw recruitment levels dip within a range of 2% and 4% respectively during the same time period. Although sectors like ITES, telecom and insurance have seen about 4% to 8% increase in their hiring levels in July when compared to June, the overall hiring levels for these sectors are still lower by 12%, 18% and 35% respectively when compared with the pre-recession period.
Functional area analysis of the report indicates that ITES and BPO professionals witnessed an increased demand over the last one month with the job index moving up by 16% in July when compared to June. The good news is that sales, accounts and production professionals have seen a steady movement in their hiring numbers over the last one month. On the other hand, banking and insurance professionals saw a 16% dip in their demand during the same time period. Professionals in project management marketing HR and IT-software saw a dip in hiring levels within the range of 2% and 6% respectively during July. A city-wise analysis of the report indicates that Pune and Hyderabad saw 4% and 3% increase in hiring levels in July when compared to June. Kolkata and Mumbai saw stable hiring levels during the same time period. But Bengaluru and Chennai saw 3% dip in hiring activity during the same time period.
Coming to hiring based on years of experience, the report indicates that professionals who have over 16 years experience have seen an increase in demand by 9% in July when compared to June.
Meanwhile the Naukri.com Hiring Outlook survey conducted on a half-yearly basis has come up with some important findings:
5% of recruiters expect layoffs in the coming months and 48% said that replacement hiring will take place
72% recruiters said that the problem of talent crunch has intensified over the last six months
There is a dip in hiring sentiment across sectors. Commenting on the survey findings, Ambarish Raghuvanshi, Chief Financial Officer, Info Edge India said, “As we witness deceleration in the economy, hiring intentions have also witnessed a more muted outlook. The drop in the overall hiring sentiment indicates that recruiters have factored in most of the bad news. Hiring sentiment is closely co-related to business confidence, which has dipped considerably. However, talented employees continue to be at a premium and finding and retaining them continues to be a challenge for recruiters.”
The survey also indicates that attrition levels have come down owing to the lack of new job opportunities. 60% of recruiters have said that attrition levels are down by 10% in their organisation.
The survey also revealed the increments given by organisations in 2012 ranged between 10% and 15% as admitted by 40% of recruiters while 26% said increments were within the range of 5% and 10%. The recruiters also indicated the presence of a talent crunch and the maximum was in the 4-8 years experience bracket.
The Naukri Job Speak Index and the Hiring Outlook Survey do not present a very optimistic picture of the hiring scenario and we can only hope that things look up during the rest of this year.
Hema.G
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