Tech Sector Leads in Opening Job Opportunities in April-June

A new study has shown that with hiring activities throughout witnessing gradual recovery, the technology sector has been leading the increase in job opportunities during April-June 2021 with a surge of 38 per cent.

The report, by global recruitment specialists Michael Page, indicates that the number of job opportunities in the country spiked in the second quarter of calendar year 2021, led by hiring in the technology function at 38 per cent.

This was followed by an increase in opportunities in non-technology roles within consumer technology (up 35 per cent) and financial technology (up 29 per cent), hinting towards a positive outlook in India's the second half of 2021 economy.

The report showed that hiring had started to witness a rise as job markets opened at the beginning of the year, just before the second wave of Covid-19 hit the country. This wave caused some disruption in the job market, and temporarily restricted hiring activities across all key disciplines.

However, according to the data shared by Michael Page, the April-June period still managed an eight per cent growth from the first quarter of 2021.

"There has been a marginal increase in the sentiments of candidates who are looking to change jobs in the second quarter of 2021, showcasing a sense of confidence for the hiring market.

"Candidates are now more open to exploring new job opportunities and roles across disciplines. The first half of 2021 has seen disciplines like consumer tech, technology and fintech lead hiring activities," Michael Page India Managing Director Nicolas Dumoulin said.

The report is based on information and facts procured from Michael Page India's proprietary data.

The report further noted that the hiring in technology almost doubled in the second quarter of this year, and many companies have capitalised on the availability of Indian techies looking to return to India due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Start-ups are also providing flexibility to the right talent to work from any location or work in a hybrid model, the report said, adding that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) space are skills in key skills in demand.

There has also been a high adoption and migration to cloud across public, private and hybrid models.

"Job rebounds have been good in tier-I cities. New-age businesses are showing a strong growth, specifically on the technology side.

"A number of international companies are also ramping up tech capabilities, indicating the industries are transforming and transitioning to be more tech-oriented. On the other hand, traditional industries, which came to a halt last year in terms of hiring, are looking better," Dumoulin observed.

However, the report found that the property and construction sector saw the highest impact in hiring with a dip of 20 per cent in job opportunities from the first quarter to second quarter.

Travel, tourism, and retail sectors did not see a lot of improvement but hiring started picking up from the second half of the second quarter, especially in the mid to senior levels.

The impact of the second wave has been less for the salaried employees as most corporations have either settled to work from home or the hybrid working model this year, the report said.

On the other hand, the impact on blue collar and daily wage earners continued in the second quarter of this year due to supply chain issues, issues on construction sites, and workers moving back to their hometowns, among others.