2015 to be bumper year for job-seekers; see big pay hikes

It may be a bumper new year in the job market, with corporate India planning to create close to 10 lakh new jobs and give out pay hikes of up to 40 per cent for best performers in 2015.

The average salary increments may also be higher in the range of 15-20 per cent, as against 10-12 per cent across various sectors during 2014.

New-age sectors like e-commerce are likely to see relatively higher pay hikes, according to a PTI report.

With the GDP growth rate being pegged at near 5.5 per cent after sub-five per cent growth in the recent past, businesses across sectors are expected to grow, experts said, and this should result in a strong job market rally as well.

In addition, India has a competitive advantage of its demographic dividend, which would, together with the hiring intensity, mark a new era of recruitment in the country.

Human resource experts believe that the job market in 2015 is going to be in a strong hiring mode and companies are preparing themselves for aggressive recruitments across the board.

In addition, there are expectations that a large number of global players would come to set shop in India, creating a lot of job opportunities at leadership and other levels.

According to a new survey by recruitment platform MyHiringClub.com, the year 2015 is coming with positive vibes for job seekers and expecting to create 9.5 lakh new jobs in different sectors, with IT & ITeS and FMCG sectors leading the chart.

"2015 is sending very positive vibes for creating new jobs in every sector.

This year freshers are able to get more opportunities compared to last three years especially in e-commerce, banking and finance, IT & ITeS and retail sectors," MyHiringClub.com CEO Rajesh Kumar said.

With regards to salary, HR experts said the average hike for some sectors can be in high single digits, but top performers can expect pay rise in the range of 20-40 per cent in 2015.

"... We see a rise of 20 per cent to 40 per cent in salaries for high quality talent. The same is driven by very high insatiable demand of high quality talent with high end skills," Himanshu Aggarwal, CEO and co-founder of Aspiring Minds, an employability assessment company, said.

According to global management consultants like HayGroup and Aon Hewitt, Indian companies are likely to offer average pay hikes of 10-18 per cent in 2015, which could be the second best in Asia after Vietnam.

Such high pay hikes in Asian countries are being attributed to the talent war in the continent, both for experienced hands and new graduates, experts said.

"Since market will improve there is possibility that companies adding some top up benefits beyond CTC, including international & domestic trips, some jackpot prizes, ESOP's will be offered by the startup companies to attract the talent," leading search firm GlobalHunt MD Sunil Goel said.

Sudeshna Datta, executive vice president and co-founder, Absolutdata Analytics, a data analytics services provider, believes in the year 2015 employers would get innovative with their compensation structures, they would attract, reward and retain high- performers massively by designing creative programmes like employee stock options, fringe benefits, deferred payments, hefty bonuses etc.

According to recruitment process outsourcing specialist PeopleStrong HR Services, some key trends that would define the job market include increased usage of social media channels for hiring, online assessments, video interviewing, data analytics, use of mobile phones and other technological devices.

According to technology hiring platform Talview.com, IT and Pharma would continue the upswing mode.

Sectors like engineering and consulting would also pick up if the new government delivers on its promises. Regulations would play a major role in further expansion in emerging sectors like e-commerce and internet.