Online recruitment in India saw a 6% drop in hiring activity in April 2023 compared to April 2022, according to the latest foundit Insights Tracker.

The Tracker noted that India’s job market is volatile amid economic uncertainty and the ongoing appraisal season when companies start their appraisal process. The Tracker dipped to 276 in April 2023 from 295 in April 2022.

Month-on-month, the Tracker registered a decline of 4%.

According to the Tracker, e-recruitment is going through a fragile state of affairs.

By industry, 6 of the 27 industries monitored by the Tracker saw an improvement over the year in online hiring. Growth was led by the Retail industry (22%) and Tourism (19%). On the other hand, the IT-Hardware, Software industry reported a dip of 22% over the year.

By function, 1 of 12 functions monitored recorded growth over the year with the Sales and BD (business development) function reporting an increase of 2% while HR and Admin reported 0% growth. Customer Service reported the biggest decline at 28%.

Among cities, online recruitment exceeded year-ago levels in 2 of the 13 cities monitored. Ahmedabad reported a 3% increase over the year.

Meanwhile, start-up jobs saw 19% growth when compared to last year.

By experience level, demand for entry-level jobseekers with an experience of 0-3 years saw a drop in demand of 9%. Hiring for intermediate roles with an experience of 4-6 years saw a 20% decline.

Mid-senior level roles with 7-10 years of experience recorded its all-time low in hiring with a decrease of 25%. Hiring for senior level roles with 11-15 years of experience eased by 15%. The biggest drop was seen in leadership roles with experience of 16+ years which exhibited a drop of 34% over the year.