India's hiring rate has recovered moderately from 10 per cent in April to 35 per cent in May 2021, but the aftermath of the second COVID-19 wave has left professionals in India increasingly vulnerable to the economic uncertainty, as per LinkedIn data.
India's hiring rate on LinkedIn dropped from 50 per cent in March 2021 to 10 per cent in April 2021. The hiring rate witnessed a modest revival to 35 per cent in May 2021, as localised curfews gradually lifted and economic activity partially resumed. However, working women and young professionals still remain vulnerable to economic turbulence. "Working women are 4 times less confident than working men, while the average time taken for new graduates to find jobs has increased from 2 to 3 months," according to LinkedIn.
Some of the dominant industries on LinkedIn that are actively hiring are Finance, Corporate Services, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Hardware and Networking. On the other hand, the industries that witnessed a decline in hiring include Consumer Goods, Media and Communications, Automotive, Marketing and Advertising and Staffing and Recruiting. Further, more than 9 in 10 companies in India are merging roles, and looking to fill open roles internally.
The top three functions with the highest internal mobility rate in India, in 2020, included Product Management, Consulting, and Program and Project Management. In 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, the demand for Specialised Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Data Science roles took centre stage. Nearly a year later, this demand for IT talent continues to surge as Application Developers, Software Engineers, and SAP Specialists emerge as the top 3 in-demand jobs today as per LinkedIn's May 2021 data.
According to LinkedIn, burnout has become a reality in the post-COVID world. "As this dynamic hustle for upskilling, tech-proofing, and recruiting continues, India's workforce has slowly but surely arrived at the brink of collective burnout," it said. This sentiment reflects strongly across the rising demand for flexibility in India as every second job seeker prioritises location, hours, and work life balance when looking for a job today, it added.