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According to the latest Naukri.com survey for August 2013, the banking and financial services sector has been showing a continuous dip in hiring activity for three consecutive months now, with the index showing another nine per cent dip in August as compared to the previous month.
The Naukri Job Speak index at 1206, was nine per cent lower in August 2013, when compared to July 2013, the maximum dip witnessed for the year. However, the index shows an increase of five per cent when compared to August 2012. All the top metros witnessed a dip in hiring levels, indicating caution in the business and recruiting environment, with the highest dip in Kolkata.
Said Hitesh Oberoi, managing director and chief executive officer, Info Edge (India): “Hiring is bound to come under pressure in an unstable macro-economic environment. In such a situation, most companies focus only on replacement hiring. Hopefully, the worst would be behind us soon and the market would start looking up in the second half of this year.”
“For most of the sectors also, the hiring activity has taken a dive on a month-on-month basis. Pharma has suffered the highest dip, with the job index going down by 14 per cent in August 2013 over the previous month. However on a year-on-year basis, maximum jobs were created in the ITES sector with the jobspeak index showing a growth of 28 per cent over August 2012,” the survey findings suggest.
Findings suggest that oil & gas, telecom and pharmaceutical sectors showed a decline in hiring in the range of 13-14 per cent in August as compared to July 2013. The auto sector was among the worst-hit in 2013 with the index dipping 15 per cent in August, compared to the previous corresponding month in 2012.
“Hiring for engineering and production professionals saw the maximum dip on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, with the Naukri job speak index down by 17 per cent & 18 per cent respectively, in August. The demand for professionals in HR, sales and accounts also showed a dip in hiring numbers,” survey findings suggest.
Geographical spread
Among the main metros, Kolkata witnessed the highest dip in hiring activity, with the index going down by 20 per cent in August 2013 on a month-on-month basis. Delhi–NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have also exhibited a dip in hiring levels in the range of 4 – 9 per cent in August.
However, on a year-on-year basis, Delhi–NCR and Bangalore have fared well with a 10 per cent and 11 per cent increase, respectively in hiring activity. Mumbai is up by two per cent year-on-year, while hiring activity in Hyderabad has been stable for the same duration.
