Covid-19 Virus and Lockdowns Indian Industries Show Declined in Job Activity in April

As India battles the lethal second Covid wave amid state-level lockdowns, industries like travel and tourism, education and engineering, cement, construction, and iron/steel continue to show a decline in job postings, a new report showed on Wednesday.

The employment index by online job search platform Monster saw a decline in job posting activity in April compared to March by 3 percent.

Overall job postings declined by 4 percent (year-on-year) as of April, and openings for entry-level roles declined by 5 percent (month-on-month), according to the latest data provided by the company.

Despite the decline in overall job postings, some industries remain strong in specific cities.

In Chennai and Hyderabad, advertising, market research, and public relations (PR) noted more than 50 percent YoY growth.

Banking/financial services and insurance in Kolkata saw a 26 percent growth (MoM) despite the overall growth in job postings remaining neutral for the location.

Hiring activity in Bengaluru (28 percent), Hyderabad (23 percent), and Chennai (16 percent) indicate strong growth in job postings compared to the previous year.

There has been significant growth in the top management (36 percent), senior-level (10 percent), and intermediate-level (13 percent) hiring year-on-year as of April compared to the same month last year.

The second wave of the pandemic and various intensities of lockdowns across the country have impacted hiring activity. However, hiring activity in some cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai indicate a positive uptick, and year-on-year growth across certain sectors and functions have been witnessed – Sekhar Garisa, CEO, Monster.com.

“These are positive indicators that we are better equipped to face the impact this year compared to April 2020,” he added.

As a positive uptick in demand, Government/PSU/defense marked 25 per cent growth in job postings in Delhi/NCR on a month-on-month basis.

However, the overall situation is still grim for metros like Delhi (-1 per cent) and Mumbai (-2 per cent), which have witnessed a decline in postings during the same period.

Job postings for functions such as Senior Management and Software, Hardware, Telecom remain neutral for April 2021.

With a year-on-year (April 2021 vs. April 2020) comparison, the functions of Software, Hardware, Telecom (17 per cent) have witnessed significant growth in job postings, the report showed.