White Collar Employment Falls by 3% in June: Survey

According to the top talent portal Foundit, white collar positions saw a 3% annual fall in June due to cautious recruiter sentiments in IT, BFSI, and manufacturing. Despite the monthly positive rise seen in a handful of these areas, it said, sectors including IT (- 19%), BFSI (- 13%), Home Appliances (- 26%), and Production/ Manufacturing (- 14%) have not yet recovered to hiring levels from the previous year.

A monthly examination of online job posting activity is conducted by the foundit Insights Tracker (fit), formerly known as the Monster Employment Index. It is based on a real-time review of millions of company job openings.

Revival in online hiring activity

However, there was a 2% gain on a month-over-month basis, which showed a revival in online hiring activity across essential industries. According to the research, there was positive month-over-month e-recruitment activity in June 2023, with the healthcare (11%), BPO (7%), production and manufacturing (5%) and logistics (9%) industries leading the way.

However, the research showed that the oil and gas industry kept up its upward trend, adding 40% more new jobs in June of last year compared to the same month the previous year, reflecting the quick expansion of refineries and the need for support positions to satisfy the boosted local and export demand. Similar to the financial sector, the pharmaceutical industry had a 14% increase in new jobs from June last year.

Other industries experiencing a good hiring outlook included the automotive, hospitality, and banking sectors

 Better hiring intentions in the upcoming quarter are expected: CEO of Foundit.

"Seeing a rise in employment activity across the bulk of the industries we monitor is promising. Jobs have returned in sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, and even IT. As businesses review their personnel requirements, we anticipate better hiring intentions in the upcoming quarter, according to Sekhar Garisa, CEO of foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), a Quess subsidiary.

He continued, "Growing in the current market requires continuous upskilling and adaptation to changing industry needs. As witnessed throughout every global slowdown, India Inc. displayed cautious hiring sentiments, but this is certain to rebound back over time.

Conclusion

In terms of cities, the metro performed well, with a 3% total hiring gain in June, while tier-II cities' recruitment fell by 2%. Regarding experience levels, demand for freshers (those with 0–2 years) has stabilised monthly, while top management positions (those with over 15 years) have seen an increase as high as 4%.

While demand for mid-senior (7–10 years) and intermediate (4-6 years) level professionals increased by 2% apiece, senior-level roles (11–15 years) only showed a marginal 1% uptick.