White-collar hiring in India saw a decline of 8.6% year-on-year in the month of September, with job listings at 2,835, as per Naukri.com’s monthly ‘Naukri JobSpeak Index’. Last year in September, the job postings were at 3,103. However, the figure was 6% higher than what was recorded in the month of August.
Among the sectors that saw a positive growth was the hospitality/travel industry which registered a 22% growth. The BFSI and healthcare sectors also saw a growth of 7% year-on-year. Branch manager and financial consultant roles saw maximum demand in BFSI in cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Jaipur. Oil & Gas and Auto industries also recorded a growth.
The IT sector has seen the hiring figures drop in recent months. “ IT-dependent cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune saw contraction of 30%, 31%, 32%, and 18% respectively in new job offers in September 2023 over September 2022,” the report said.
It added that the BPO/ITES and FMCG sectors were some of the major sectors that witnessed a negative growth of 25% and 23% respectively, last month.
Hospitality/travel saw the maximum growth with the highest number of job offers in the sector seen in Mumbai. “Restaurant Manager and Guest Services Roles were in highest demand in the month of September 2023,” the report said.
It also found that non-metro cities continued to outshine the metros for job creation in September. Cities like Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur recorded a growth of 4%, 3%, and 2% respectively as compared to September 2022.
Preference for experienced professionals
The job market saw an inclination towards experienced people in September. The hiring for professionals with 16 years of experience jumped to 29% year-on-year. The figure for professionals with 13-16 years of experience increased by 11%. Professionals with 8-12 years of experience saw new job offers decrease by 2%, while people with 4-7 years of experience saw a 19% reduction. The hiring for freshers decreased by 10% in September 2023.