Online recruitment in India grew by 10% in February 2022 compared to February 2021, according to the latest Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index growth reflects the improved sentiments in the online hiring space as compared to February last year. The index charted 290 in February 2022 from 271 in February 2021.

Meanwhile, job demand saw a 3% increase on a month-on-month basis, as January 2022 saw an index of 282.

Monster noted that the Index showing positive annual growth reflects employer confidence towards the resiliency of the Indian economy.

Online recruitment activity exceeded the year-ago level in 21 of the 27 industry sectors monitored by the Index.

Office Equipment/Automation (103%) continued to chart up the trend on the year in February 2022. BFSI (27%) remained one of the strongest sectors by the way of long-term growth and Printing/ Packaging (23%) also saw momentum in online job demand in the month of February 2022 compared to February 2021.

The Engineering, Cement, Construction, Iron/ Steel (-23%) industry lingered at the same level showing a negative trend. Also, Media & Entertainment (-13%) and FMCG, Food & Packaged Food (-8%) saw a significant dip in February 2022 annually.

Online demand exceeded the year-ago level in 5 out of 13 functional areas monitored by the Index.

Finance and Accounts (26%) led all job roles in terms of long-term growth in demand. HR & Admin (20%) and Software, Hardware, Telecom (19%) functions continued to trend up but at a slower pace than the past months

Online recruitment activity was up on the year for 9 of the 13 locations monitored by the Index. Coimbatore (+21%) led all monitored cities year-on-year, followed by Bangalore (+20%), Chennai (+17%).

Demand for entry-level job seekers with experience of 0-3 years grew by 5%. Hiring for intermediate level roles with an experience of 4-6 years increased by 22%. Mid-senior level roles with 7-10 years of experience saw growth of 25%. Hiring for senior level roles with 11-15 years of experience increased by 14% while leadership roles with experience of 16+ years witnessed growth of 42%

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