April sees slower monthly growth in online hiring

Online hiring activity in India registered 28 per cent growth in April on a year-on-year basis, although there was a relative slowdown in the pace of online hiring on a monthly basis, says a survey.

The Monster.com Employment Index, a monthly gauge of the country's online job demand, stood at 244 in April, registering a 28 per cent jump over the same month last year.

"The MEI reveals a relative slowdown in the pace of online hiring. While the numbers are still good there is a drop from a robust 42 per cent in March to 28 per cent in April, 2016," Monster.com India managing director Sanjay Modi said.

According to the survey, the production and manufacturing sectors are going through a fragile period. Online recruitment activities in this sector have been charting a negative six-month growth consistently since January 2016.

"We as a nation are definitely heading in the right direction for a long term gain with more streamlined employment generation initiatives and strongly driven Skill India by PM with an aim to enhance employment," he said.

However, currently the scenario is a bit cautious when it comes to hiring. The production and manufacturing industry is yet to see its heyday but the concept of Make in India is appropriately towards greater employability, Modi said.

A sector-wise analysis shows that hiring in the IT sector continues to steer ahead of all industries with a 63 per cent growth, followed by the printing and packaging industry with a growth of 60 per cent since 2015.

Though the media and entertainment sector maintained a steady growth of 47 per cent, the industry took a sharp nose dive from 71 per cent in March 2016, the survey said.

"The start-up ecosystem is currently going through a stage of healthy recalibration which is a positive trend from a long term perspective. We are optimistic that this dip is temporary and will soon fade away," Modi said.

All 13 cities monitored by the Index registered positive growth on the year even this month. Chandigarh, followed by Bangalore leads all cities by the way of long-term growth.