 "IT sector")
Despite the enduring importance of data-driven decisions for organisations, the past year has witnessed a decrease in the overall number of data science and analytics job opportunities in India, according to a report by Great Learning. This decline can be attributed to various factors, including global economic uncertainty, with a notable impact on the IT sector.
The "Analytics and Data Science Jobs in India 2023" report provides insights into the evolving job market, specifically focusing on data science and analytics. The report also covers the share of jobs across company types, the open jobs based on years of experience, mode of work, salaries, and more.
Great Learning also draws on data from AIM Research's job tracker, which aggregates information about data science and analytics job listings from various online platforms in the report.
Hari Krishnan Nair, the co-founder of Great Learning, said, "India is in the midst of a massive digital transformation supporting business operations globally, and there is a considerable push towards embracing data-driven decisions to achieve more efficient business operations. This year's report has sprung some surprises—but once economies rebound, we can expect data science and analytics jobs in India to grow further and open up more unique job profiles. We hope the 'Analytics and Data Science Jobs in India 2023' report will guide organisations as well as individuals as they pursue their career goals by giving them an in-depth look into the prevailing job trends in the country."
BFSI sector holds highest share of data analytics jobs in 2023
In 2023, India's Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector claimed the largest share of data science and analytics jobs, accounting for over a third of such positions overall. This growth is driven by adopting advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) & machine learning (ML) and big data analytics. These technologies help enhance risk management, fraud detection, and customer service.
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Despite accounting for the most number of jobs in the IT sector, the proportion of data science and analytics employment opportunities has significantly decreased compared to the previous year.
This decline can be attributed to global economic challenges, especially in the United States and Europe, where many IT sector clients are located.
Meanwhile, roles in the energy and utilities sector decreased compared to 2022, while those in retail & consumer packaged goods (CPG) and pharma & healthcare have seen an increase this year.
MNC IT & KPO biggest employers in IT sector
Multinational Corporations (MNC) in IT and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) still account for the largest share of jobs in this domain at 56 per cent. However, their share has also decreased by 21 percentage points compared to 2022 (77 per cent) due to the economic conditions impacting the sector.
In contrast, domestic non-IT firms (25 per cent) and domestic IT & KPO firms (13 per cent) have seen increases of 20 and eight percentage points, respectively, in job openings compared to the previous year.
More job opportunities for mid-level professionals
While mid-level professional positions continue to grow, there's a decline in open positions for senior-level professionals. Data science and analytics jobs are concentrated in the 2–5 years and 5–7 years' experience brackets, as these professionals are seen as adaptable and cost-effective for organisations.
In 2022, the share of jobs in these two brackets was equal at 21 per cent. In 2023, the 2–5 years' experience bracket saw a 13 percentage point increase in job openings at 34 per cent, while the 5-7 years' experience bracket only went by four percentage points to 25 per cent. This may have been partly due to cost-cutting measures amid the economic downturn.
However, opportunities for more experienced individuals (7+ years) have reduced. The report outlines organisations prioritising upskilling existing employees over hiring new senior personnel as the reason.
Job opportunities for freshers with less than a year's experience declined to five per cent from nine per cent the previous year, while those with one to two years of experience shot up to 20 per cent from 11 per cent the previous year.
More positions available in the Rs 6-10 lakh salary range
Regarding salary ranges, jobs for analytics & data science specialists in the Rs 6–10 LPA (lakhs per annum) category make up the majority of positions in 2023 at 33 per cent. This further aligns with the increased demand for professionals with 2-5 and 5-7 years of experience.
Professionals in the Rs 10-15 LPA range make up 24 per cent. Together these two income brackets make up nearly 60 per cent of all data-related jobs in 2023.
This data emphasises the reduced interest in hiring freshers (three per cent) and highly experienced candidates this year (altogether 15 per cent) whose salary packages exceed Rs 15 LPA.
Bengaluru: India's IT hub
Regarding job locations, Bengaluru continues to lead as the largest hub for data science and analytics jobs (26 per cent), although it has seen a slight drop since 2022 (29 per cent). Delhi NCR (22 per cent), Hyderabad (12 per cent), and Chennai (nine per cent) have witnessed an increase in their share as organisations diversify their talent hubs. At the same time, Mumbai saw a slight decrease to 11 per cent this year compared to 13 per cent the previous year.
Ahmedabad has remained consistent at two per cent in the last two years.
The report notes that Chennai's automotive and manufacturing sectors and Hyderabad's growing pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries are generating more demand for data science professionals.
More opportunities of IT professionals with MBA degrees
The report findings show an increasing requirement of MBA degrees for data science & analytics jobs. This reflects a stronger integration of business and data science. There's been a marginal decline in vacant positions for those with engineering degrees to 36 per cent this year compared to 38 per cent in 2022. This may indicate the reduced hiring of freshers across industries in response to economic conditions.
On the other hand, jobs for MBA graduates with data science & analytics specialisations have increased to 19 per cent compared to 12 per cent in 2022, as companies seek candidates with both data science skills and managerial capabilities to lead teams.
Opportunities for job seekers who have a non-engineering undergraduate degree also declined to 20 per cent this year compared to 24 per cent last year, along with engineering postgraduates which went down to 11 per cent this year compared to 17 per cent in 2022.
Business analysts in most demand
Regarding job roles, "business analyst" remains the most in-demand position by volume. However, roles such as AI/ML engineers, big data analysts, data architects, computer vision specialists, and natural language processing or NLP experts have seen an increase in their share since 2022. Notably, NLP roles have grown significantly, given their importance in applications like virtual assistants and sentiment analysis. Conversely, roles in deep learning and data engineering have decreased.
Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder of Great Learning, said, "India is in the midst of a massive digital transformation supporting business operations globally, and there is a considerable push towards embracing data-driven decisions to achieve more efficient business operations. This year's report has sprung some surprises—but once economies rebound, we can expect data science and analytics jobs in India to grow further and open up more unique job profiles. We hope the 'Analytics and Data Science Jobs in India 2023' report will guide organisations as well as individuals as they pursue their career goals by giving them an in-depth look into the prevailing job trends in the country."
