Companies in India saw a 61% increase in jobs during the April to June quarter when compared to the previous quarter, according to research from Mint-Shine.com.

Data from Shine’s job portal found that the first quarter of FY 2021, when the second wave of Covid-19 was rampant in India, had registered fewer postings. Since then, most of the sectors have shown an increased demand for workforce with companies opening-up, and either returning to a physical office or adopting a hybrid model. Sectors like hospitality are beginning to revive.

In FY 2022 (2021?) sectors like IT (16%), hospitality (10%), energy (8%), engineering and construction (7%) and banking and financial services and insurance (BFSI, 9%) were among the top recruiters.

In the data available for the first quarter of FY 2023 (are these dates correct?) so far, the top sectors by number of job postings were: IT (21%), BFSI (16%, of which banking and financial services comprised 9%, and insurance 7%), BPO/call centres (10%), and recruitment services (9%).

The Shine study found that sectors such as aviation, manufacturing and telecom saw the number of job postings dwindle in FY22 versus FY21. But the travel sector, battered by the pandemic, is picking up as tourism and office travel resume.

During the April-June quarter, the HR executives polled in the study showed an increased preference for work from office, 48.1% preferred heading to office. About 39.6% preferred the hybrid model of work where employees were asked to head to office only on scheduled days of the week.

In sectors facing 20% plus attrition levels, companies are rolling out double digit pay hikes to retain talent.; sectors like start-ups, IT, BFSI, where attrition is high, are expected to roll out higher increments.

But merely upping salaries is not enough to cope with threats of the ‘Great Resignation’, the study found. Many are relying upon benefits and welfare programmes such as flexible work options, better insurance, healthcare and mental health policies, and more stock options as retention measures.