Hiring activity in India stable in March, up 12 per cent on year: report

Hiring activity in India remained stable in March over the previous month and saw a 12 per cent increase over the same period last year, according to a report by job portal Naukri.com.

 

The Naukri Job Speak Index for March stood at 1,475, showing stability in hiring activity, when compared to the previous month.

 

Yearly comparison shows a 12 per cent increase in hiring activity in March over the corresponding period last year, the report said.

 

"The job market continues to improve steadily. Hiring activity is beginning to look up beyond sectors like IT. However, for hiring to pick up substantially we will have to wait for uncertainty around the elections to clear a bit," said Hitesh Oberoi, managing director and chief executive of Info Edge (India) Ltd, the company that owns Naukri.com.

 

Industry wise, sentiment was muted across all sectors except pharmaceuticals, which saw growth, with the index moving up by 8 per cent month-on-month.

 

The index for IT sector grew 4 per cent in March 2014 over the previous month.

 

However, the banking, finance, insurance, media, entertainment and capital goods sectors saw a decline in March 2014 over the previous month.

 

Among the metros, Kolkata witnessed maximum improvement in hiring with the index moving up by 14 per cent in March over the previous month.

 

Chennai saw no growth during this period. Mumbai and Delhi saw a decline in hiring in the previous month.

 

City wise, Pune saw an increase in hiring with the index moving up by 9 per cent in March over the previous month. The demand for professionals working in production and maintenance saw maximum increase with the index moving up by 8 per cent.

 

However, demand for professionals working in banking, insurance, sales and development sector witnessed decline.