Job postings by Indian companies fell sharply in FY23 compared to the previous financial year. Data from talent management firm Foundit shows that such postings fell 32% to 1.3 million, from 1.9 million, a decrease of 628,404.
While job postings are not absolute numbers of recruitment, they are indicators of the employment scenario.
Foundit CEO Sekhar Garisa said, “The job market in the country continues to be soft and there has been a 7% fall in postings on a month-on-month basis in the first quarter. We expect the softness to continue for the next couple of quarters.”
According to him, the job market should pick up by late FY24, with most sectors now out of the pandemic impact starting to recruit.
Kartik Narayan, CEO-Staffing at TeamLease, felt that the reasons vary from sector to sector. “The funding winter has adversely affected the startup and e-commerce ecosystem, while the fear of a global recession is prompting information technology companies to stay away from active recruitments,” Narayan said.
He believes that the high attrition at IT firms should have resulted in an increase, but it did not happen. Also, while many smartphone and chip manufacturers are setting up facilities in the country, it will take some time before they generate significant employment, and the rural staffing perspective continues to be a problem.
For FY23, the IT sector (including hardware and software) topped the charts, registering a fall of 361,190 to record job postings of 474,169. This was followed by banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) with a decline of 79,951 (total 189,172), telecom with a fall of 14,145 (77,314), and media and entertainment recording a decline of 43,570 (65,984), according to data from 27 sectors compiled by Foundit.
Garisa added that the last 2-5 years were years of job market hiccups, but some sectors have undoubtedly contributed to the overall revival of employment generation in the country.
“Also, technological advancements, economic conditions and changing industry needs are constantly reshaping the job market ecosystem. To succeed in this competitive environment, it’s essential for individuals to continuously update their skills, stay informed about industry trends, and be willing to adapt to new technologies and work practices,” Garisa added.
Narayan said that despite the challenges posed by the funding winter and global recession fears, there is hope. As the ecosystem stabilises, IT firms are expected to ramp up their recruitment efforts, with other sectors such as BFSI, e-commerce, FMCG and manufacturing following suit.