Online hiring activity in India registered the fourth consecutive monthly rise in January, signalling that the situation has changed for the better and 2014 is likely to be a promising year on the job front.
The Monster.Com's employment index, a monthly gauge of the country's online job demand, rose by 7 points (5.18 per cent) to 142 in January, from 135 in December 2013.
On a year on year basis as well, the index has charted an 11 per cent growth in annual recruitment activity following six successive declines.
"Monster Employment Index exhibits upbeat hiring trends vis-a-vis the previous year. IT (hardware and software) and retail are among the top growth sectors," Monster.Com (India/ Middle-East/South East Asia) Managing Director Sanjay Modi said.
Modi further added that even though the rate of long-term growth achieved is much lower than what was witnessed in 2010 and early 2011, the situation has certainly changed for the better.
Since October 2013, the index is showing an improvement on a month-on-month basis.
On the basis feedback received from various corporates across industry sectors and HR consultants, it is estimated that 2014 will be a promising year on the job front, Modi said.
Sector-wise, IT, healthcare, education, infrastructure and BFSI sector are likely to drive the job market in 2014.
On a year-on-year basis, online recruitment activity expanded in 24 of the 27 industry sectors monitored by the Index. The retail sector registered a double-digit growth for the first time since June 2013, the report said.
Online recruitment activity contracted the most in consumer goods/ FMCG, food and packaged food (down six per cent) industry.
Meanwhile, 10 out of the 13 occupation groups monitored by the index saw online demand exceed the year-ago level. In terms of locations, online opportunities exceeded in 11 of the 13 cities monitored by the Index over last year.
Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad saw significant improvement in the rate of long-term growth each charting a double-digit growth on the year.
Baroda and Coimbatore are the only cities to record a negative annual growth. Baroda saw the steepest annual decline among all cities, the report said.
