Hiring activity in India grew by 57% in September 2021 when compared to September 2020 with growth led by IT and hospitality, according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak Index.

The recent wave of digital transformation among Indian organisations continued to generate demand for tech professionals. Year-on-year hiring in the IT-Software/Software Services sector has grown by 138% in September 2021. Sectors like Hospitality (82%) and, Retail (70%) which were most impacted by the pandemic, also witnessed significant year-on-year growth in September.

The continuous growth of the IT-Software/Software Services sector has enabled major IT hubs to outperform other cities in the annual growth charts. Bengaluru (133%), Hyderabad (110%), Pune (95%) and Chennai (85%) recorded the highest year-on-year growth in September 2021.

Hiring across all experience bands has increased in September 2021 vs September 2020, largely due to the overall positive performance of the hiring market as it recovers from the setbacks caused by the pandemic. During this period, demand for senior professionals belonging to the 8-12 years (75%) experience bracket witnessed the biggest growth followed by 4-7 years (65%), 13-16 years (57%,) 0-3 years (54%) and above 16 yrs (38%).

Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com said, “India is witnessing a never seen before activity in hiring. Fueled by the demand for IT professionals, it truly is heartening to see the industries recover at the onset of the festive season. The market witnessed 57% year-on-year growth indicating strong revival of the market post pandemic. Majority of the sectors, cities and experience bands have recorded positive growth in both year-on-year and month-on-month charts in the month of September 2021.”

Meanwhile, hiring activity was stabilised (3%) in September 2021 compared to August 2021 although major sectors and cities recorded growth with normalcy gradually being restored in most parts of the country.