Overall recruitment activity witnessed an 11 per cent growth during April-June, as the job market began showing signs of recovery from the COVID-19 second wave, says a survey.
According to the Indeed India Hiring Tracker, that maps quarterly job market activity to June 2021, hiring increased by 11 per cent over the previous quarter, with standout growth in Information Technology (61 per cent), financial services (48 per cent), and BPO/ITeS (47 per cent).
This survey was conducted by Valuvox on behalf of Indeed among 1,500 employees and 1,200 businesses across nine cities in the month of June 2021.
"As businesses continue to find a rhythm of working through multiple pandemic challenges, the tracker reflects the resilience of India''s labour market," Sashi Kumar, head of sales, Indeed India said.
Kumar further noted that "with hiring activity seeing a month-on-month increase, it was interesting to see businesses pivot their hiring priorities from operation roles to sales roles. It’s also clear that paying attention to employee expectations will enable them to thrive, so ongoing conversations around wellbeing and hybrid work are vital."
According to the survey, receding COVID cases and partial lockdowns in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22 allowed businesses to operate, focussing employers on roles driving sales and revenue -- a shift from the focus on operational roles to stabilise business operations in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2020-21.
The widespread impacts of the second wave resulted in understaffed teams and increased employee burnout.
As many as 76 per cent of the job seekers surveyed did not receive COVID-related benefits/compensation packages or mental health support.
Appraisal plans were also impacted. 70 per cent of employees said they did not receive any promotion or pay increase this quarter, with only 11 per cent of employers promoting or offering salary increases, the survey said.
Employers and employees aren’t on the same page when it comes to future work models. Employers preferred a hybrid work model (42 per cent) to remote work (35 per cent), while jobseekers favoured remote working (46 per cent) over a hybrid approach (29 per cent).
Moreover, 51 per cent of women compared to 29 per cent of men said they wanted to continue working from home, while 52 per cent of senior management preferred working from home, compared to 36 per cent of middle level and 31 per cent of junior level employees.
Jobseeker priorities also shifted, with 25 per cent saying salary was their primary focus, followed by career growth (19 per cent), learning opportunities/challenges/responsibilities (16 per cent), and company reputation (14 per cent), the survey said.
