Monster Employment Index: 6% Spike in Demand for Healthcare Professionals Amid Omicron Concerns

Demand for talent surged 12% year-on-year in December 2021, showcasing an optimistic recovery cycle at the close of the year. According to the Monster Employment Index, the most reliable and comprehensive job analysis report by Monster.com, a Quess Company, robust growth in hiring activity was witnessed in the last six months with a 6% uptick, while December 2021 saw a monthly incline of 2% in December 2021 as compared to the previous month.

Across industries, the month of December 2021 saw Retail and Agro-based industries witnessing a positive incline of 12%, on account of multi-channel approaches, technological adoption, and Government initiatives. The demand for roles in Healthcare witnessed a surge of 6% on account of rising Covid-19 cases in the country, while roles in HR & Admin (5%) and Finance& Accounts (4%) also saw an uptick over the month. Further, it is quite encouraging to note that the demand for Entry level/Freshers and Intermediate roles saw the highest monthly growth at 2%, as compared to other experience levels (Dec 2021 vs Nov 2021).

A year-on-year (Dec 2021 vs Dec 2020) comparison indicates that industries such as Retail (14%) and Travel & Tourism (4%) witnessed a revival and are estimated to grow further in 2022. Further, Tier-2 cities such as Kolkata (13%), Coimbatore (11%), Kochi (5%), and Baroda (2%) observed favourable rise in hiring activity along with metro cities.

Retail, Agro, FMCG, Real Estate and Healthcare sectors exhibit optimistic hiring trends in December 2021 

With the adoption of multi-channel approaches and enabling technologies, the Retail (12%) industry leads the way to recovery with the highest month-on-month growth in hiring intent. Agro-based industries (12%) also projected positive growth trends, aided by government initiatives to strengthen agri-technology. FMCG, Food & Packaged Food (7%), Printing/Packaging (7%), Banking/Financial Services, Insurance (5%) industries showcased positive uptick. It is also encouraging to note that industries such as Real Estate (6%) which witnessed a spike in demand for office spaces, Healthcare, Bio Technology & Life Sciences, Pharmaceuticals (4%), and IT-Hardware, Software (3%) revived as compared to the previous month. On the other hand, the Telecom/ISP (-9%) and Engineering, Cement, Construction, Iron/Steel (-7%) sectors showed the steepest monthly decline in job postings, followed by Shipping/Marine, Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Travel and Tourism, and Education marking a 1% decline in job posting activity respectively (Dec 2021 vs Nov 2021).

On a year-on-year basis, hiring demand saw an incline in 22 out of 27 industries monitored by the Index. Office Equipment/Automation (86%) continued to observe a substantial rise in job demand in the month of December 2021 given the immense adoption of automation across industries over the course of the pandemic (Dec 2021 vs Dec 2020). Printing/Packaging (36%), BFSI (35%), IT- Hardware, Software (30%), Telecom/ISP (23%) also witnessed a jump in job posting activity. It is promising to note that industries such as Retail (14%) and Travel & Tourism (4%) are faring well in contrast to a dip in the previous months, as they pave the way to recovery from the ramifications of the pandemic. These industries would continue to recover, if there are curbs over the third wave of the pandemic. The Engineering, Cement, Construction, Iron/ Steel (-13%) saw a dip in hiring in December 2021 due to increased labour migration causing bottlenecks in logistics and construction. Other sectors performing with a sequential decline in hiring demand include Import/Export (-8%), Government/ PSU/ Defence (-7%), Media & Entertainment (-6%), and Education (-4%). The Education industry, which witnessed a complete shutdown of physical classes as well as interrupted reopening of schools, continues to recoup at a slow pace.

Tier-2 cities indicate positive month-on-month recovery, in-line with metros

Positively, 11 out of 13 cities monitored by the Index showed an optimistic outlook towards growth with Bangalore (5%), Mumbai (4%), Delhi-NCR (4%), Hyderabad (4%), Pune (3%), Kolkata (3%), Chennai (3%), Kochi (3%), Jaipur (3%), Coimbatore (2%), and Ahmedabad (1%) looking up, while Chandigarh witnessed stabilized growth. As these cities saw dips in hiring activity in the previous month, it is reassuring to note this positive incline in December 2021. The demand for talent in Tier-2 cities is estimated to improve in the coming months, with companies switching back to remote working in light of employee safety amidst rising Covid-19 cases. However, Baroda (-1%) continued to show a slight decline in hiring activity, mainly due to the dip in the Media & Entertainment (-24%) industry across the city (Dec 2021 vs Nov 2021).

In December 2021, as compared to December 2020, a similar trend followed, with a majority of cities showing positive uptick in demand. Bangalore (29%) accounted for the highest growth, followed by metros Hyderabad (22%), Pune (20%), Chennai (19%), and Mumbai (15%). Kolkata (13%) continued to exhibit encouraging growth, as did Delhi-NCR (11%), Coimbatore (11%), Kochi (5%), and Baroda (2%). BFSI and IT - Hardware, Software industry continue to clock positive growth in metros.  All major functions saw a significant growth in metros except Sales & Business Development and Customer service which reflected a downward trend. Cities that revealed continued dip in hiring include Jaipur (-12%), Chandigarh (-9%), and Ahmedabad (-4%).

Healthcare led with the highest intent to hire on account of staff shortage amidst rising Covid numbers

As India grappled with the new Covid-19 variant Omicron and an understaffed Healthcare industry, data from the Index indicates that the demand for medical professionals spiked in the month of December 2021 with a 6% month-on-month growth (Dec 2021 vs Nov 2021). HR & Admin (5%), Finance & Accounts (4%), Software, Hardware, Telecom (2%), and Senior Management (2%) followed with positive growth numbers. Hospitality & Travel roles witnessed muted growth in the month. Among functions, Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain (-4%), Customer Service (-1%), and Arts/ Creative (-1%) showcased a decline in hiring demand.

Hiring for roles in Software, Hardware, Telecom (29%), Finance and Accounts (27%), Senior Management (24%), HR & Admin  (21%), and Marketing & Communications (3%) saw a positive incline year-on-year (Dec 2021 vs Dec 2020). However, Sales & Business Development (-20%) and Customer Service (-13%) saw a consecutive dip this month, as well as Healthcare (-6%) and Hospitality & Travel (-1%) which witnessed a yearly de-growth on account of the pandemic.

Freshers and Intermediate roles witness highest intent to hire in the month of December 2021

Across experience levels, the demand for Entry level roles (0-3 years) saw a positive incline in hiring activity, leading with the highest growth at 2%. This indicates a promising outlook for freshers hiring in the months to come. Hiring demand for Intermediate level (4-6 years) also witnessed 2% incline, Mid-Senior level (7-10 years) grew marginally at 1%, and Senior level (11-15 years) witnessed muted growth. It is notable that, after months of positive growth, demand for Top Management (over 15 years) saw a down trend with a 1% decline in hiring activity in December 2021 (Dec 2021 vs Nov 2021).

Data from the Index indicates that demand for Top Management roles (over 15 years) witnessed considerable year-on-year growth at 64% on account of increasing changes in company hierarchy and management over the course of the pandemic (Dec 2021 vs. Dec 2020). Mid-Senior level (7-10 years) professionals also saw positive growth of 37%, Intermediate level (4-6 years) inclined by 30%, and Senior level (11-15 years) an uptick of 21%. Hiring demand for Entry level professionals (0-3 years) witnessed a comparatively marginal growth of 9% in December 2021 as compared to the previous year.

Sekhar Garisa, CEO - Monster.com, a Quess company said, “Hiring numbers from the close of 2021 have certainly brought about a strong sense of hope and recovery across sectors. The Retail industry has bounced back in December with rapid tech advancements, and we expect accelerated growth in the sector going forward. It is also quite encouraging to see Tier-2 cities revive and function alongside metros. Given the spike in Covid cases, there has been a rise in job postings for Healthcare professionals in India. However, we remain cautiously optimistic on the growth of the Indian recruitment space in 2022, keeping in mind the possible impact of Omicron on the job market.”