Telecom industry’s attrition rate declines to 43.4% in FY24; industry sees demand for entry-level customer-facing, tech roles

The Indian telecom industry has seen a slowdown in overall workforce growth, even as demand for the entry-level customer-facing roles, including sales, support and service, and technology roles remained positive, latest data from TeamLease Services stated.

Even as the industry’s associate workforce expanded by 51.05 per cent in FY21-22, this growth moderated to 31.41 per cent in FY23-24. However, telecom companies continued to actively hire field sales executives, customer relationship executives, retail executives, installation engineers, fibre repair executives, and cell site repair staff during this period.

“Our data reveals a dichotomy in the telecom sector’s workforce trends,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO-Staffing of TeamLease Services. “While the overall employee growth rate tapered, we witnessed a demand for young talent in customer-facing and technology roles that support the industry’s field operations and network infrastructure.”

The findings highlighted the telecom workforce’s young demographics, with 56.8 per cent in the age group of 18-29 years, which aligns with the industry’s frontline service delivery and tech deployment requirements.

Furthermore, the industry’s attrition rate declined from a peak of 58.4 per cent FY22-23 to 43.4 per cent in FY23-24, which can be partially attributed to the slowed growth in the workforce size. Sustained average salaries between Rs 24,600 – Rs 25,475, according to TeamLease Services, likely supported employee retention efforts.

“While the slowdown in overall growth is notable, we are encouraged by improving attrition rates and sustained entry-level hiring traction. Our insights underscore telecom’s strong appeal among young job seekers and the industry’s efforts to attract this digital-savvy talent through competitive compensation,” said Subburathinam P, Chief Strategy Officer at TeamLease Services.