Hiring for leadership roles dips by 2%; upward recruitment trend in advertising, FMCG

Economic growth has been flat over the past couple of quarters, but hiring activity seems to be on the uptick. According to the Naukri JobSpeak Index for June 2019, hiring was up six per cent when compared to the year ago period. Fresh hiring in the software industry grew by 26 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing industries. Management graduates were also in demand, with professionals in functional areas like HR and Sales. Bangalore and Hyderabad were the major centres of job creation, clocking 10 per cent and 8 percent growth in employment.
“The JobSpeak index has been in growth mode for the last six months. Cities in the South and Pune continue to grow well even in June owing to IT. The Banking sector continues to dip in June,” said Sumeet Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, InfoEdge India Ltd. In preparing the report, the data for 2008 was scaled to 1000. Employment data on Naukri for the month of July 08 was set as the benchmark for subsequent months.

Despite hiring being higher than that in the year ago period, in reality, employment has been on the decline since the general elections in April. According to the report, hiring fell 12.31 percent from April to June. The automobile sector was hardest hit, with new hiring down 18 percent when compared to last year. The sales of passenger vehicles have stalled over the past few quarters, with concerns over the new emission control norms, high fuel prices, and the transition to electric vehicles.

Industrial production, banking and construction were also hard done by market sentiment, resulting in a subsequent slowdown in new jobs. Industries that showed a healthy upward trend in recruitment include advertising/PR and FMCG, which saw 14 percent and 8 percent new hires join the workforce. The employee base of the insurance sector expanded by 17 percent. The job markets in most metropolitan areas witnessed an increase in demand for talent. Pune topped the list with an 11 percent rise in new jobs, driven primarily by the ITeS and auto industries. The FMCG sector created 37 percent new jobs in Hyderabad, and on the whole, hiring to leadership positions with an experience level of 8-12 years grew by 16 percent.

In the south, Chennai which is a hub for many automobile companies, saw new hiring in the sector shrink by 23 percent. Overall, recruitment growth stood at a measly 3 percent. Hiring activity in Bengaluru grew by 10 percent, on the back of an expanding IT sector, which created 30 percent new jobs when compared to the year ago period.

Hiring was subdued on either end of the experience spectrum. The demand for entry-level jobseekers with experience less than three years grew by 5 percent. The revolving door remained largely shut for senior executives. Hiring to leadership roles – with more than 16 years of experience – saw a dip of 2 percent.