Hiring to heat up in Jan-Mar quarter if no curbs imposed: Report

Corporate India's hiring intent is likely to witness a significant uptick in the January-March period, provided harsh restrictions are not imposed on the business operations, according to a report.

According to the TeamLease Employment Outlook Report, the intent to hire can rise up to 9 percentage points in the current quarter -- the highest ever growth to be registered in the intent to hire since the outbreak of COVID.

Further, out of the 21 sectors reviewed, around seven can record growth of more than 10 percentage points in their intent to hire, making the current quarter a good time for talent, the report said, adding that the outlook needs to be read in the context of looming risk from a resurgent Omicron variant.

The TeamLease Employment Outlook Report reflects hiring sentiment across 14 cities and 21 sectors in India. The survey covers 829 small, medium and large companies across the 21 sectors.

"The current economic indicators like the K-shaped recovery of the economy, improved capacity utilisation to counter the supply disruptions that were caused by the pandemic, increase in private investments and the rising exports all have the potential to fast track hiring momentum," said Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services.

Chakraborty further noted that though IT function and technology-linked firms will continue to dominate the job creation ecosystem, if further lockdowns are not imposed other roles and sectors will not be far behind.

"In fact, out of the 21 sectors, 17 have indicated a growth rate of more than 5 per cent -- 11 more sectors compared to the previous quarter -- indicating the employment scenario is in recovery mode across sectors," Chakraborty said.

A sector-wise analysis shows that information technology is leading the pack with 89 per cent of the corporates planning to hire IT professionals, during January-March, 2022.

Some of the other sectors that will be on a hiring spree during the current quarter include Educational Services (80 per cent of the employers), Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (71 per cent) and Ecommerce & Technology Start-ups (69 per cent).

The focus on hiring freshers seems to have tapered off, instead of junior-level talent or talent with 2-5 years of experience is the most sought after profile in the current quarter.

More than 46 per cent of the employers (12 per cent growth over the previous quarter) are looking to hire junior talent. Further, from a function point of view, sales (71 per cent) and IT (61 per cent) continue to rule the functions that are in demand.

As per the report, there is a sharp increase in attrition across all sectors compared to previous quarters. Four sectors with more than 8 per cent attrition rates include Information Technology, Educational Services, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals and Knowledge Process Outsourcing.

"All sectors appear to have higher attrition rates than in the previous quarter, indicating that a shift in employee perspective and work dynamics could be potential causes for the same," the report said.