COVID-19 impact worsens, talent demand dropped in essential sectors including Healthcare/Pharma & BFSI

As the COVID-19 crisis deepens, talent demand at Indian Inc. dropped even in the essential services sectors as Healthcare and BFSI. India Inc. registered 8% drop in talent demand in May 2020 M-o-M analysis, triggered predominately by the extension of the nationwide lockdown from May 17 till May 31, 2020. Most high volume sectors noted a dipwith the sharpest fall in the Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals, BPO, BFSI and Automobilessectors, stated the finding of TimesJobs RecruiteX May 2020 edition. 

TimesJobs RecruiteX is a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent at India Inc.

Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig, said, “The COVID-19 lockdown has caused an irreplaceable damage to the Indian economy. From March 2020 to May 2020, the talent demand has slipped continuously for three months now. However, I am hopeful that things will get better from here. Job seekers should use this time to learn new skills to be better equipped for the future. Recruiters should also use this time to evaluate their hiring strategies to attract the right candidates. 

Here are the major findings of the RecruiteX May 2020 edition:

Industry-wise: The Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals sector – which noted a marginal jump of 2% in talent demand in April 2020 – shed most talent demand in May 2020. The BPO and BFSI sectors – which together employ a big share of India’s corporate workforce – too registered a drop in talent demand despite most companies operating remotely.

Sectors with notable loss in talent demand:

Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals: (-14%)

BPO: (-13%)

BFSI: (-11%)

Functional areas: Almost all functional areas recorded no growth in talent demand. The Marketing & Advertising job profile registered the sharpest dip in M-o-M talent demand.

Functional areas with notable loss in talent demand:

Marketing & Advertising: (-30%)

Front Office/Administration: (-20%)

Quality/Process Control: (-17%)

Location-wise: Among the metro cities, Bengaluru shed most talent demand in May 2020.Chennai - which recorded a mere 1% growth in talent demand in April 2020 – saw no growth, no loss in talent demand in May 2020. All other cities saw no improvement in talent demand.  

Cities with notable loss in talent demand:

Bengaluru: (-14%)

Mumbai: (-9%)

Hyderabad: (-6%)

Experience-wise:  The talent demand for professionals with 10-20 years of work experience noted steepest dip of 16% in May 2020. All other experience categories also noted a dip in talent demand. 

Work experience with notable loss in talent demand:

10-20 years: (-16%)

5-10 years: (-15%)

Over 20+ years of work experience: (-6%)