Online recruitment in India recorded a year-on-year decline of 15% in December 2020, according to data from the Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index decreased to 255 in December 2020 from 301 in December 2019.

Month-on-month, the Index was flat.

Online hiring demand in December 2020 exceeded December 2019 level in three of the 27 Industries monitored by the Index.

Year-on-year, Telecom/ISP (Internet service provider) (7%) indicated higher growth in e-recruitment activity among industries followed by Agro Based Industries (6%) and Media & Entertainment (4%). The rest of the monitored industries showed a downward trend in online demand for hiring.

Among the industries that continued to decline in annual growth are travel and tourism (-64%), Oil/ Gas/ Petroleum (-38%), Production and Manufacturing (-35%) and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), Food & Packaged Food (-33%).

In December, annual online demand for professionals reflected growth in two of the 14 functional areas as tracked by the Index.

Online demand for professionals increased in job-roles for Arts/Creative (+4%) and Software, Hardware, Telecom (+1%) whereas Engineering/Production (-2%) showed a slight dip between December 2019 and 2020.

Functional roles in Hospitality & Travel (-41%), Customer Service (-34%), Finance and Accounts (-30%) and Senior Management (-24%) witnessed the sharpest annual dip.

Meanwhile, online hiring demand monitored by the Index dipped in all the 13 cities from a year ago level.

By experience level, demand for entry-level job seekers with experience of 0-3 years decreased by 19%. Hiring for Intermediate level roles with an experience of 4-6 years fell by 15%. Mid-senior level roles with 7-10 years of experience saw a decline of 10%. Hiring for Senior level roles with 11-15 years of experience decreased by 2% while top management level professionals witnessed a surge of 6%.