The IT/Telecom sector recorded the highest talent demand in India’s formal sector in January 2021 registering 23% growth when compared to the same period in the previous year, according to data by TimesJobs RecruiteX, a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent in India’s formal sector.

When compared to the previous month, the IT/telecom sector, which is India’s largest employer in the formal sector, registered 2% growth in January. The BFSI (banking, financial service and insurance sector recorded 1% month-on-month growth in January 2021. This was a comedown from the 5% growth in December 2020.

Sanjay Goyal, Business Head TimesJobs and TechGig said, “The IT sector is steadily building up its talent demand. It has been posting a single-digit growth since Sept 20. The Biden admin delayed the implementation of Trump era rule on H-1B visa, which will help boost the Indian IT sector. With the Covid-19 vaccination in full swing and the substantial announcements for healthcare, infrastructure and skill development in the Union Budget 2021-22, I’m anticipating that the talent demand will see a significant rise in the coming months.”

Despite the growth in IT/telecom and BFSI, all the other industrial sectors posted negative demand in the first month of 2021.

Among cities, the top five for talent demand included Indore with 23% monthly growth, followed by Chandigarh (19%), Mumbai (9%), Pune (8%) and Delhi NCR (5%).

Meanwhile, Quality/Process Control jobs was the most sought after job profile in January 2021. It grew from (-8%) in December 2020 to 14% talent demand in January 2021. The Banks/Insurance/Financial Services profile had topped the talent demand index in December 2020 with a 9% rise but registered 2% month-on-month growth in January 2021. Front Office/Administration (7%) and Marketing & Advertising (6%) also recorded monthly growth in talent demand.

The index also showed that professionals with 5-10 years of work experience were most in-demand in January 2021. This category saw growth from (-2%) in December 2020 to over 30% growth in January 2021. Those with 2-5 years of work experience saw 25% month-on-month growth.