Insights from the job data crawled by JobsPikr provide real-time information on trends that are emerging in the labor market. In this latest update, we see that hiring in labor market in India is at around 35% above pre-COVID levels and that the trend for remote work continues to grow.
Hiring is Hovering Around 35% Above Pre-COVID Levels
Hiring had started to climb in the middle of March 2021 and was over 50% higher compared to the pre-COVID period (March 2019), but then faced steep drops at the end of the month possibly due to a long holiday weekend and some state-wide curfews occurring during that period. Subsequently, there was a second wave of COVID-19 cases in India which corresponded to a deepening hiring dip in April. Hiring reached a low of 10% before bouncing back up at the end of the month. It is now back up at around 35% as of July 2021.
Our job market analysis looks at the changes in the hiring rate between this month and the same month in 2019. Note that larger fluctuations tend to be seen around large public holidays – this might factor into the hiring rate fluctuations seen in late December and early January.
As we reach the first anniversary of the national lockdown, the pure year-over-year metric is likely to spike due to the hiring decline in 2020. This may mislead audiences to believe that the economy is surging this year when in fact narratives are assuming comparison and recovery to pre-Covid “normal times”.
Labor Market in India – Key Findings
Job Seekers in Badly Affected Industries Continue Seeking Opportunities in Other Industries
This analysis looks at how job seekers in different industries are adapting to changes and adjusting their jobs search strategy. The Hardware and Networking sector moved to the top of the list this month – this sector saw the largest number of job seekers looking for roles in a different sector. Over 70% of those workers who transitioned out of the Hardware & Networking industry, moved to the Software & IT sector in July 2021.
This analysis looks at how job seekers in different industries are adapting to changes and adjusting their jobs search strategy. The measure here calculates the likelihood that a member in a certain sector has applied for a job in a sector different to their own.
Remote Work Opportunities
Remote job post trends in India appear to be correlated with lockdown trends. Across 2020, the percentage of paid job postings on the web that offered “remote work” had grown by 35 times compared to the beginning of the year. This number has continued growing in 2021, and as of 31 July 2021, the share of remote job posts is up almost 3x year-over-year.
Overall, the trend also appears to mirror the extent of lockdowns in India, peaking in August 2020 and more recently climbing over June and July 2021. As of the end of July 2021, roles with the highest number of remote vacancies include: DevOps Engineer, Javascript Developer, and Software Engineer. Labor market in India is experiencing higher growth rate.
Graduates in India Have More Remote Opportunities for Work and Networking
Graduates of the 2021 class are worried about the tough job market they are entering. In India, we found that the average time for fresh graduates to find a new job was 43% longer in 2020 compared to 2019.
Despite this, there are growing opportunities for remote work, even at entry-level jobs. When we looked at the job postings on the web for entry-level positions, we saw that the proportion of entry-level jobs posted between Jan-March that are labelled as remote increased by 9 times between 2020 and 2021.
Transitioning to the Green Economy
There’s new momentum in the green movement across the world. The European Union committed in 2019 to be the first carbon-neutral continent, China, Japan, and South Korea have followed suit with net-zero emissions commitments. And India has made several commitments towards climate change, including achieving 40% of electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel by 2030. Labor market in India is experiencing higher growth rate and is transitioning to the green economy.
This transition to the green economy will require a large shift in the roles and skills of workers across the globe. That means growing demand and opportunities for those with “green” skills, as well as upskilling many workers with those same skills.
Our job data scraping solution shows a “green shift” happening in India. As of July 2021, there are currently almost 2 million members with green skills in India – this is an increase of over 50% compared to three years ago.
Using JobsPikr’s skills-based approach, we were then able to identify jobs that were associated with a high degree of green skills.
- Environmental Engineer. Skills: Environmental Engineering; Environmental Impact Assessment; Environmental Management Systems; Environmental Compliance; Wastewater Treatment
- Environment, Health and Safety Manager. Skills: Industrial Safety; ISO 14001; OHSAS 18001; Hazard Identification; Environmental Management Systems
- Environment Specialist. Skills: Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS); Industrial Safety; Environmental Management Systems; ISO 14001; Hazard Analysis
- Health Safety Environment Officer. Skills: Industrial Safety; Hazard Identification; NEBOSH; Hazard Analysis; HSE Management Systems
- Solar Engineer. Skills: Solar Energy; Solar PV; Solar Power; PVSyst; Solar System Design
