Hiring index for IT services has declined in all nine months of this year

The hiring index for IT-Software/Services has now declined (on a YoY basis) in all nine months of this year, reflecting continued softness in demand and uncertainty in the overall environment, Emkay Global Financial Services.

IT Job Index is currently down 49 per cent from its peak levels in July 2022.

BPO/ITes/CRM/Transcription hiring also reported a decline of 6.4 per cent MoM, and it has now declined for the eighth consecutive month on a YoY basis.

IT-Hardware and Networking jumped by 3.3 per cent MoM but was 28 per cent lower YoY.

Weaker trends in IT-Software/Services are corroborated by lower attrition/muted hiring trends reported by IT companies in the last few quarters. Timelines for recovery in the IT sector hiring remain uncertain and depend on macros, while non-IT hiring is expected to sustain strength, Emkay Global Financial Services said.

For September, Naukri's JobSpeak index reported 6.3 per cent MoM growth, registering the second successive month of growth. This is only the fourth month of this calendar year, where the index has reported growth (MoM), reflecting slow growth in the job market.

IT-Software/Services hiring, however, fell 8.8 per cent MoM, and was down 43.4 per cent YoY.

In September, 16 of the 38 industries saw a decline in hiring activity on an MoM basis.

On a YoY basis, 17 of the 38 industries have now grown, indicating a recovery in the broader economy.

The IT sector continued to face global headwinds and saw the hiring numbers dwindle in the last few months.

However, Big Data Testing Engineer, IT, Information Security, and IT Operations Manager roles were in high demand even during this period.

Among the major sectors, Banking/Financial Services/Broking saw a sharp jump of 36.3 per cent on an MoM basis, followed by Insurance at 34.2 per cent, Medical/Healthcare/Hospital at 12.1 per cent, Auto/Ancillaries at 8.3 per cent, and Construction/Engineering/Cement/Metals at 6.8 per cent, Emkay Global Financial Services said.

Among the major sectors that saw a decline include Recruitment/Employment Firms at 22.2 per cent MoM, Office Equipment/Automation at 11.7 per cent, IT-Software/Software Services at 8.8 per cent, FMCG/Foods/Beverage at 4.9 per cent, Media/Dotcom/Entertainment at 3.3 per cent, and Consumer Durables at 1.9 per cent, the report said.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)