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How has the hiring activity changed in Q1 2022 as compared to Q1 2021 />

How has the hiring activity changed in Q1 2022 as compared to Q1 2021?

Devashish Sharma
By Taggd Editorial Team

June 27, 2022

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2 min read

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Introduction

India Inc wholeheartedly reinvented itself during the COVID times and rapidly realigned its operations and processes to come out of the lull posed by the first lockdown.

With that phase far away in the rear-view mirror, the consensus among all industry participants is that they are adequately equipped to face similar challenges in the future without significant disruptions and that the focus should now only be on growth - Rapid growth. To meet that goal, the industry is vigorously emphasizing hiring candidates who are skilled and flexible-minded.

The 2020 hiring freeze was a black swan event, and once businesses came out of the initial shock of the first-of-its-kind lockdown, hiring and recruitment saw an immediate uptick. In FY 21-22, the effect of a low base year and pent-up demand saw hiring increase by 34% to reach stable levels.

In FY 22-23, we estimate a 31% YoY hiring growth rate across key sectors, which signals that the economy is marching on the right track and is set for a bright future in the coming years.

What are the top sectors with the maximum hiring activity?

In our Decoding Jobs Industry Sectoral Report for 2022 prepared in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Sunstone Eduversity, we have analyzed the hiring activities in all key sectors and presented their hiring outlook based on multiple parameters.

Based on the findings of the report, the top five sectors expected to see the maximum hiring uptick in 2022 are:

  1. Internet businesses
  2. IT/Tech
  3. Automotive
  4. BFSI
  5. Pharma/Healthcare
increase in hiring

What are some prominent hiring trends this year?

There have been some positive trends that hint at organizations looking to strengthen themselves by building a dynamic workforce selected from a wide talent pool. Below are some insights:

  1. Remote working: Companies are moving towards offering more flexibility, with an average of 23% of the workforce expected to work from home across all sectors in 2022.
  2. Gender diversity: There is upward growth in hiring women across all designations to make the workspace more inclusive, with 2022 expected to see an estimated 36% increase in women hiring.
  3. Contractual hiring: The landscape is witnessing a refreshed mindset, with a significant increase in the hiring intent of gig workers across key sectors, such as BFSI (from 19% in 2021 to 29% in 2022) and global in-house centers (from 7% in 2021 to 17% in 2022)
  4. Tech and non-tech skills: Companies are increasingly looking for a balanced mix of soft and technical skills. Preference is also being given to employees who are eagerly willing to upskill, adopt tech-related skills, and switch to new roles quickly.

What is the outlook for Q2 2022?

Q1 saw companies going all out to hire talent in bulk. Like the first quarter this year, the year-on-year growth will be visible across most of the key sectors in Q2 as well.

With a significant portion of annual hiring capacity already achieved in the first quarter, we expect to see an overall 20-25% hiring dip in Q2 vis-a-vis Q1.

However, some sectors might prove to be outliers as they are experiencing a renewed surge in demand, such as automotive and ancillary services, cybersecurity, hospitality, education, and real estate.

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By Devashish Sharma

Founding Member And President