Despite slowdowns in key sectors, hiring activity in India recorded year-on-year growth of 4% in December 2022 when compared to December 2021, according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak Index.

The Naukri JobSpeak Index stood at 2,890 in Dec 2022 up from 2,770 during Dec 2021.

The insurance sector led year-on-year growth in December 2022. This was followed by the BFSI (Banking, financial services and insurance) (36%), oil and gas/power (35%).

Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com said, “The Indian job market exhibited favourable hiring activity in 2022, with a 20% increase in new job creation compared to the full year base of 2021. However, we do witness a correction in key sectors like IT and BPO towards latter half of the year currently being offset by hiring activity uptick in non-IT sectors like Insurance, Banking and Real Estate. This reaffirms the multi-sectoral and balanced footprint of the Indian white-collar job market. As we enter 2023, the positive trends observed in non-IT sectors and smaller cities, keep us watchful yet optimistic with respect to 2023.”

Naukri said the momentum generated in the beginning of 2022 sustained into the second half of 2022, barring a few key sectors.

December 2022 numbers when compared to the first half of 2022, showed 51% growth in hiring activity for insurance sector. Other sectors, which recorded an upward trend vs first half of 2022, include oil (33%), banking (24%), real estate (21%), and auto (12%). However, IT & BPOs (business process outsourcing) sectors linked to global markets declined by 19% and 9%, respectively in December 2022 vs first half of the year, with start-up hiring impacted the most.

When comparing December 2022 to H1 2022, data for non-metro cities showed that Ahmedabad led the list with 39% growth, followed by Vadodara at 29%, and Jaipur at 16%.

Among the top-tier metro cities, Delhi/NCR and Mumbai saw 12% growth in hiring activity compared to the monthly average of the first half of the year.

The long-term demand for professionals across levels was stable throughout the year. Professionals having 16+ years reported 26% of growth and the 13-16 years of experience segment rose by 15% when comparing December 2022 to H1 2022. However, the largest segment that comprises freshers and mid-experience professionals remained flat.