Monster Employment Index: Hiring activity sees positive growth across most Indian metros

Mumbai: Monster Employment Index, the most reliable and comprehensive job analysis report by Monster.com, a Quess Company, has published its findings for July 2021, providing insights into the job market across industries, cities, functions, and levels.

While the global impact of the pandemic and its variants continues to be seen, it is encouraging to note that hiring demand has increased by 10% in the last three months. Data from the index indicates that compared to June 2021, July 2021 witnessed a notable overall monthly growth of 4% in hiring. Overall job postings have also improved by 8% year-on-year (July 2021 v/s July 2020), indicating a continued optimistic outlook for the coming months.

July 2021, in-line with the previous month, continued to show a favorable outlook for job recovery despite pandemic-led restrictions. IT-Hardware, Software (39%) industry witnessed the highest year-on-year increase in the hiring of professionals, with notable growth in metropolitan cities. Further, in terms of levels, hiring for top management indicated remarkable growth of 69%, year-on-year (July 2021 v/s July 2020).

Hiring activity in metropolitan cities such as Bengaluru (57%), Pune (35%), and Chennai (29%) indicates strong growth in recruitment as compared to the previous year (July 2021 v/s July 2020). The demand for professionals in Software, Hardware, Telecom functions continues to show an uptrend with a 42% year-on-year increase in job postings nationally, as tracked by MEI, as of July 2021. This is in-line with the on-going demand for digitalization and tech-enablement across sectors.

Job postings witness a positive uptick in industries that were previously in a slump due to the pandemic

Online hiring demand in July 2021 exceeded 16 out of the 27 industries monitored by the index, in a year-on-year comparison, owing to fluctuations in the pandemic’s impact across different sectors.

Interestingly, job postings in Travel and Tourism have seen a steep uptick month-on-month (July 2021 v/s June 2021) at 16%, a welcome relief to the industry, which has been facing considerable challenges since the onset of Covid-19. Other industries such as Shipping/Marine (14%), Office Equipment/Automation (9%), and Real Estate (9%) have also witnessed a growth in postings in July 2021, compared to the previous month. However, industries such as Government/PSU/Defence (-1%) and Media & Entertainment (-3%) have seen a decline in hiring activity, month-on-month.

A year-on-year (July 2021 v/s July 2020) comparison indicates IT- Hardware, Software (39%) continued to be a topmost industry in hiring activity. Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (32%), and Shipping/Marine (31%) industries also showcased a remarkable annual growth in e-recruitment activity. However, some industries, despite the month-on-month improvement, remain impacted by the pandemic in comparison to last years (July 2021 v/s July 2020), such as Education (-24%) and Travel and Tourism (-30%).

Most metropolitan cities observe robust hiring activity year-on-year as of July 2021

On a positive note, location-wise data indicates that there has been no decline in job postings month-on-month (July 2021 v/s June 2021) across cities monitored by the index. As of July 2021, job postings in Delhi-NCR (8%), Pune (7%), Hyderabad (7%), Chennai (6%), and Bengaluru (6%) witnessed an uptick. However, monthly hiring activity has been low or muted in certain locations like Ahmedabad (2%), Baroda (1%), and Jaipur (0%).

A yearly comparison (July 2021 v/s July 2020) indicates a significant spike in demand for talent in Bengaluru (57%). Other cities such as Pune (35%), Chennai (29%), and Hyderabad (27%) also witnessed a promising increase in postings compared to last year. Some cities that continue to face challenges in hiring activity include Kolkata (-13%), Jaipur (-20%), and Baroda (-21%).

Hospitality & Travel breathe a sigh of relief, see a positive uptick in job postings in July 2021

Functions such as Hospitality & Travel (12%) witnessed an uptick in job postings month-on-month (July 2021 v/s June 2021), in-line with the reopening of tourist locations, and increased traveler confidence, with more and more individuals getting their doses of vaccination. While all functions have indicated a positive trend in hiring, other functions that have done well monthly, include Senior Management (8%), Finance & Accounts (7%), Software, Hardware, Telecom (6%), and HR & Admin (6%). Arts/Creative (0%) have indicated muted growth in job postings compared to June 2021.

On a year-on-year (July 2021 vs. July 2020) basis, Software, Hardware, Telecom (42%), Senior Management (23%), and Engineering/ Production (8%) continue to indicate an increase in job postings. Functional areas that remained neutral include Legal (0%), and Marketing & Communications (0%). However, Customer Service (-31%) functions witnessed a steep decline compared to last year.

Healthcare and allied functions see an overall declining trend

Healthcare functions have seen a 21% decline in job postings year on year (July 2021 vs. July 2020). This is despite the spike in hiring that the sector saw immediately after the lockdown easing in June 2020. While there was a surge in the requirement for Healthcare workers during the peak of Covid-19 (June-July 2020), along with increased demand from Pharma research companies while the vaccine was being developed, this demand subsequently slipped, and a fluctuating trend has been witnessed in line with the development of the Covid-19 situation. Overall, hiring activity in Healthcare, Bio Technology & Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals industry witnessed a 12% decline year-on-year (July 2021 vs. July 2020).

Job postings across all levels witness an optimistic uptrend

Recruitment activity across all job levels witnessed optimistic or neutral month-on-month (July 2021 v/s June 2021) growth. Hiring for entry-level jobs (0-3 years) has seen a growth of 5%. Intermediate roles (4-6 years), Mid-Senior professionals (7-10 years) and Senior professionals (11-15 years) saw an increase of 7%, 7%, and 4% month-on-month respectively. Hiring for Top management professionals (over 16 years) witnessed muted (0%) monthly growth.

In a year-on-year (July 2021 vs. July 2020) comparison, the demand for Top Management level professionals continued to grow significantly, as high as 69%. Intermediate level (18%), Mid-Senior level (23%), and Senior level (18%) roles also witnessed considerable growth. While there is an improvement from the previous month, job roles for entry-level profiles have declined by 1% compared to the same time period last year (July 2021 v/s July 2020).

Sekhar Garisa, CEO – Monster.com said, “Despite the challenges of Covid-19 and its impact on the hiring landscape, we have seen positive growth in job postings across most cities. Jobs in certain sectors such as Tech and IT are booming, as companies come forward to boost their tech enablement and improve workforce efficiency. While some industries are doing better than others, we can be confident of seeing improvement in the coming months, given the active vaccination drives currently underway. Hiring activity, along with the economy in India, is on the mend as sectoral revival is in progress consistently over the past couple of months.”