Staffing firm TeamLease Services expects a growth of 7.1% in new employment for October 2024-March 2025, hinting at a possible pick-up in hiring. This is higher than 6.33% growth witnessed during April 2024-September 2024.
The uptick represents the collective outlook of 59% of employers planning to expand workforce while 22% plan to maintain their current staffing levels over the next five months.
The growth will likely be driven by sectors such as logistics, EV & EV infrastructure, agriculture & agrochemicals, and e-commerce which are heavily investing in infrastructural and technological advancements.
Logistics, for example, stood out with a 14.2% net employment change as 69% of companies in the sector look to increase headcount till March 2025.
As per the report, EV and EV infrastructure (12.1%), agriculture and agrochemicals (10.5%) and e-commerce & tech startups (8.9%) could see robust recruiting. Startups, particularly, are likely to capitalise on AI-enabled customer insights, Web 3.0 applications and seasonal demand from the festive period.
The report highlights that there’s a geographical shift taking place in the job market. For instance, cities like Coimbatore (24.6%) and Gurgaon (22.6%) are becoming job hubs, representing a decentralisation of employment opportunities beyond traditional metros.
“While Bengaluru (53.1%), Mumbai (50.2%), and Hyderabad (48.2%) remain central employment anchors with high workforce demand, the demand in cities like Coimbatore, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Nagpur signals a broader spread of job growth across India – reinforcing the appeal of smaller cities as viable alternatives for job seekers and companies alike,” the report added.
In terms of competencies, companies are not only looking to fill roles but are seeking specific skills that align with today’s operational and technological needs. New jobs for competencies such as problem-solving (35.3%), time management (30.4%), and after-sales service (28.4%) are becoming critical while existing jobs with competencies like communication (57.8%), sales and marketing (44.6%), and critical thinking (37.3%) remain essential.
Meanwhile, the report said that policies such as the global capability centres (GCCs), which are projected to add $60 billion to India’s economy by 2025, are creating high-skill roles in technology and research & development (R&D). Also, the Semiconductor Mission seeks to add 80,000 jobs by 2025 through an investment of `1.25 lakh crore.
“The employment landscape is increasingly shaped by technology and policy-driven shifts. Our latest findings underscore the diversity in job growth across India, from established urban hubs to emerging cities, and reveal a workforce that is evolving rapidly to meet demands in sectors like logistics, EV, and tech startups,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO of TeamLease Staffing.