Online recruitment in India saw a 3% decline in August 2022 compared to August 2021, according to the latest Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) decreased to 275 in August 2022 from 284 in August 2021.

Month-on-month, the Index recorded a 2% fall, as July 2022 saw an index of 281.

Monster added that online hiring sentiment took a nose-dive exhibiting a sluggish growth rate this month, but the jobs are expected to rebound amidst next quarter.

By industry, 14 of the 27 industry sectors monitored by the Monster Employment Index registered expansion in online recruitment activity between August 2021 and August 2022.

BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) (+20%) continues to outpace all industries, while the Import/ Export (+19%) sector also records strong annual growth with the increase in the India’s merchandise export. Shipping/ Marine (-24%) showed the steepest annual decline.

Online recruitment activity edged up in 4 out of 13 functional areas monitored by the Index. Finance and Accounts (+27%) charted the most substantial annual gains amongst the occupational groups followed by HR & Admin (+15%) roles.

Engineering/ Production (-20%) continued to exhibit the steepest annual decline among all monitored functions whereas Customer Service (-15%) saw a dip in August 2022 from the year ago level.

Online recruitment activity was up on the year for 6 of the 13 locations monitored by the index.

Coimbatore (+13%) led all cities in annual growth whereas Mumbai (+11%) is the strongest annual gainer among major metro-markets in August 2022.

Hyderabad (+3%) recorded a slight increase, whereas Delhi-NCR (0%) and Pune (0%) matched the corresponding period a year-ago.

By experience level, demand for entry-level job seekers with experience of 0-3 year increased by 2%. Hiring for Intermediate level roles with an experience of 4-6 years decreased by 2%.

Mid-senior level roles with 7-10 years of experience also witnessed decrease of 1%. Hiring for senior level roles with 11-15 years of experience marked 3% growth.

Meanwhile, leadership roles with experience of 16+ year exhibited steepest growth of 10% among all experience levels.

The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly and quarterly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by Monster India.