Online hiring by Indian companies dropped by 5 per cent in July despite a six-month strong momentum in the overall job market, says a recent survey by recruitment services firm Monster India.
The Monster's Employment Index, a monthly gauge of the country's online job demand, declined by six points to 129 in July as against 135 in June.
"July is the first month since November 2009 to witness a decline and it is just due to some cyclical and seasonal factors," Monster's Managing Director for India/ Middle East & South East Asia Sanjay Modi said.
Modi attributed the slow down to cylical and seasonal factors like firms being busy with their quarterly results announcement as well as completing the training and post-hiring formalities after the recruitment activity in the previous month.
Yet, despite the month-on-month decline, the six month average of the employment index remained strongly positive with 20 of the 27 sectors surveyed exhibiting positive six-month growth.
"Companies across sectors remain enthusiastic about hiring and the fresher level hiring has remain stable from the last month", Modi said.
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He added the current employment scenario in country in contrast to October-December 2009 had improved, as indicated by the Monster Employment Index and the job openings in general were higher since April.
The Education sector was the top growth sector that grew by 6 per cent in July against the previous month. BPO/ITES sector maintained its previous hiring levels in July, while online recruitment activity in the IT sector dropped by 5.4 per cent over June.
The study revealed demand for health care professionals edged up by 6 per cent, while real estate recorded the sturdiest medium-term growth gaining 79 per cent above January levels.
Online job opportunities in the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector declined by 8 per cent in July, its first dip since March 2010.
Twelve out of 13 cities covered in survey registered a decline in online recruitment. Bangalore registered the steepest decline of 11 per cent followed by Kolkata at 10 per cent. Delhi-NCR was the only city where recruitment levels maintained steady in July, the study noted.