Indeed Hiring Tracker: White-Collar Hiring Sees 8% Increase in Q2 2023 Despite Market Challenges

The latest findings from the quarterly hiring tracker by Indeed, a leading global matching and hiring platform, revealed insights around hiring activity for white collar jobs in India for Q2, 2023. The survey highlights that a significant 61% of employers engaged in hiring between April and June quarter. The report also indicates an impressive 8% increase in white-collar hiring, even in the face of layoffs and economic uncertainties during the same period.

Key Insights from the Indeed Hiring Tracker:

The IT sector is the most in-demand sector. The IT sector continues to exhibit resilience and therefore continues to be the most preferred functional area (18%) of work for employees during the quarter. The high demand is also due to the fact that this sector is constantly evolving, which means there are always new opportunities for skilled workers. This is followed by production/manufacturing (17%), sales (15%), and marketing (13%).

Both employees and employers are demanding specific skill sets. An increase in demand for specific skill sets was seen by both employees and employers. In addition to technical skills, employers are also looking for employees with soft skills, such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. These skills are essential for employees to be able to work effectively in today's dynamic and rapidly changing workplace.

Layoffs have had a significant impact on the job market.  62% of surveyed employees reported job losses either personally or among their peers. This has led to increased competition for jobs and financial insecurity for many job seekers.

Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, Indeed India said,'' The findings from our Q2 2023 Hiring Tracker provide valuable insights into the current state of the job market. The IT sector remains strong, and there is a clear demand for specific skill sets. Tech and soft skills will continue to play a significant role to navigate the digital boom.”

Challenging job landscape across India, especially for new graduates

The majority of employers (71%) consider the current white collar job market conditions for new graduates to be challenging with limited opportunities. The biggest challenges that fresh graduates face are lack of openings for everyone (41%) and the constantly changing skill requirements from employers(11%). However, despite these

challenges, 28% of employers hired freshers, a 5% increase from the previous quarter, indicating a likely positive trend in the upcoming quarters.

The job market is also not the same in all parts of India. There are more opportunities in some regions than others, and the specific skills that are in demand also vary by region. The metro cities are where job openings are lacking for freshers such as Kolkata (50%), Chennai (46%) and Delhi/NCR (45%). Non metro cities and upcoming tech hubs like Hyderabad (37%) and Pune (39%) are hotspots of demand for freshers.

Outlook:

The white-collar job market in India is looking mixed in the coming months. Tech skills will be in demand, conversation on the future of work like hybrid, remote vs at office will be more common, and continuous learning will be key. Job seekers should focus on developing their tech skills, be open to remote work, and keep learning new things.

Methodology

This survey was conducted by Valuvox on behalf of Indeed amongst 1,109 employers and 2517 jobseekers and employees. The survey respondents were segregated into cities, and further categorized into large, medium, and small organizations, and then into sectors.