Talent Demand Index Shed 4% Y-o-Y And 16% M-o-M In Apr’21; Construction, Petrochemicals Increased 22% Y-o-Y

The COVID-19 resurgence in Apr’21 has derailed the business growth - and M-o-M talent demand consequently - but the Y-o-Y stats show an encouraging story. The talent demand trend for Apr’20 - when first COVID-19 wave hit India – v/s Apr’ 21- when the country is braving a far more infectious wave - shows a double-digit growth in heavy duty sectors; and Constructions and Petrochemicals saw 22% Y-o-Y growth in talent demand, reported TimesJobs RecruiteX.

RecruiteX is a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent at India Inc. The Y-o-Y analysis showed that all high volume sectors as BFSI, IT/Telecom and Automobiles saw growth. Most sectors were revving up their operations to resume full operations in Apr’21, however the widespread infection has cut this growth story short.     

India Inc.’s talent demand suffered a setback in Apr’21 owing to the sudden surge in the COVID-19 infection. India Inc. shed 4% Y-o-Y and 16% M-o-M talent demand in Apr’21, with all the top 10 industrial sectors noting a double-digit drop in the Mar’21 v/s Apr’21 comparison, reported TimesJobs RecruiteX.       

A further study of talent demand in Apr’21 found that Retail and Projects/Infrastructure industries shed most talent demand (28% each) in M-o-M analysis. Talent demand shrunk least in the IT/Telecom (10%), Healthcare (12%) and Automobiles (12%) sectors in Mar’21 v/s Apr’21 comparison.

A similar story was seen in the functional-area’s M-o-M study too. The IT/Telecom and Doctors /Medical Professionals profiles recorded (9%) dip each in the M-o-M review. Rest all functional areas shed talent demand in double-digit, with Marketing & Advertising noting the steepest fall of 30%.

Location-wise, except Vadodara, all other cities shed talent demand with Mumbai noting the steepest decline of 18% in the monthly analysis. Vadodara saw a 9% rise on Apr’21 v/s Mar’21 study.

Elaborating on the findings of RecruiteX Apr’21 edition, Sanjay Goyal, Business Head TimesJobs and TechGig said, “Most sectors in India were opening up for operations in Apr’21 but the COVID-19 surge threw everything out of gear. However, the Y-o-Y talent demand trends show that only three sectors (i.e. FMCG, Pharmaceuticals and Retail) noted a decline while all other sectors had an encouraging yearly growth with Construction/Cement and Petrochemicals sectors growing by 22% each. The M-o-M stats are of course in the red because of the COVID-19 resurgence.”

“Jack Ma’s observation that ‘2020 is the year of staying alive and not a time to dream or plan’ seems more apt for 2021. I urge everyone to be accommodative, understating and empathetic to their peers, juniors, managers. We can overcome this crisis, together,” he added.

Sector-wise Y-o-Y talent demand analysis:

·         Construction/Cement: 22%

·         Petrochemicals/ Oil and Gas: 22%

·         CRM/Call Centres/BPO: 16%

·         Projects/Infrastructure/Power/Energy: 15%

·         BFSI: 11%

Sector-wise M-o-M talent demand analysis: 

·         IT/Telecom: (-10%)

·         Healthcare/ Biotechnology/ Pharmaceuticals: (-12%)

·         Automobiles/Auto Component: (-12%)

·         BFSI: (-14%)

·         Manufacturing & Engineering: (-18%)

City-wise M-o-M talent demand analysis:

·         Vadodara: (9%)

·         Ahmedabad: (-3%)

·         Delhi NCR: (-8%)

·         Indore: (-11%)

·         Pune: (-11%)

Functional area-wise M-o-M talent demand analysis:

·         Doctors/Nurses/Medical Professional: (-9%)

·         IT/Telecom: (-9%)

·         Banks/Insurance/Financial Services: (-12%)

·         Sales/Business Development: (-14%)

·         Quality/Process Control: (-15%)

Work experience-wise M-o-M talent demand analysis:

·         2-5 years of work experience: (-9%)

·         5-10 years of work experience: (-15%)

·         Freshers, less than 2 years: (-20%)

·         10-20 years: (-21%)

·         20+ years of experience: (-29%)

About RecruiteX:

RecruiteX is the recruitment index for India. It is an analysis identifying the hiring activity and trends in India Inc. Based on tactful extraction and examination of jobs posted and applied for in a month at TimesJobs, it details ‘recruitment’ as a process backed by hiring sentiments of a recruiter and aspirations of the job seekers alike.