Intent to hire freshers improves marginally by 3% in Jul-Dec 2023: Report

Intent to hire freshers in the second half of this year has witnessed a marginal increase of 3 percentage points and the top three industries with the highest hiring intent for freshers are e-commerce and technology startups, telecommunications and engineering, and infrastructure, says a report.

According to TeamLease EdTech, there is an increase of 3 percentage points in the second half of 2023 at 65 per cent as against the first half of 2023 (62 per cent) in freshers hiring in India.

Additionally, the overall hiring intent for all categories of jobseekers has risen to 73 per cent from 68 per cent over the same duration.

Such sustained growth implies an optimistic job market in the coming months, especially for freshers.

The survey covered 737 small, medium, and large companies across 18 industries across India. 

The coverage was spread across 14 geographical areas [metros, tier-1, & tier-2] reflecting the hiring sentiment of fresh degree apprentices in India.

"Amidst a challenging hiring scenario, the Indian job market indicates a marginal uptick with a 3 per cent increase in the intent of hiring freshers. Moreover, the overall rise in hiring intent to 73 per cent for all jobseeker categories reinforces the optimistic outlook for the coming months," Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease Edtech, said.

Among industries with the highest hiring intent for freshers are E-commerce & Technology Start-ups (59 per cent), Telecommunications (53 per cent), and Engineering & Infrastructure (50 per cent), the survey said.

The IT industry sees an overall decrease in the intent to hire freshers as compared to HY1 2023. 

Whereas some new and trending sectors like Travel and Hospitality have emerged with an increase of 5 per cent.

Roles such as DevOps Engineer, Chartered Accountant, SEO Analyst, and UX Designer are in high demand across industries for freshers, the report said.

"... The demand for roles such as DevOps Engineer, Chartered Accountant, SEO Analyst, Cybersecurity Analyst, Digital Marketing Specialist, Artificial Intelligence Engineer and UX Designer across industries signals a promising landscape for the young talent entering the job market," Rooj said.

Reflecting the clear market sentiments, some in-demand courses that freshers can undertake to increase their employability include Certification Courses in Digital Marketing, Business Communication, Data Science, Blockchain, and PG programs in AI and ML, it said.

Among cities, Bangalore leads the way with a hiring intent of 65 per cent, followed by Mumbai at 61 per cent and Chennai at 47 per cent.