Demand for talent across India rose by 14 points in February 2021 when compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest TimesJobs RecruiteX, a monthly recruitment index that records the demand and supply of talent in India’s formal jobs sector (India Inc.).

The year-on-year talent demand trend is largely led by IT/Telecom (44%), BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) (11%), Petrochemicals/Oil & Gas (10%), Projects/Infrastructure (10%) and ITeS/BPO (IT-enabled services/ business process outsourcing) (7%) sectors.

Talent demand in Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals sector remained stable and the Automobiles sector recorded 2% growth.

Meanwhile, talent demand index gained seven points in month-on-month analysis. The Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals sector recorded 28% growth in Feb 2021 after witnessing a 40 points month-on-month drop in the demand index in January 2021.

Ahmedabad recorded the highest month-on-month growth with a 25% gain in February21 over a 22% drop in January 2021. Chennai and Delhi-NCR reported 12% and 4% growth in talent demand, respectively.

All major functional areas except Quality/Process Control and Supply Chain Management/Procurement reported growth in talent demand in February 2021. 

Demand for senior professionals with 20+ years of experience and 10-20 years of experience rose by over 30% and 16%, respectively. Middle-level professionals saw a slow growth in demand after a high traction in January 2021. Demand for fresh graduates reported a 4% decline in the said period.

 Sanjay Goyal, Business Head TimesJobs and TechGig said, “As per the data trends, it’s becoming clearer that India Inc. has learnt to sustain and grow in the Covid-19 era. Post the budget announcement, a positive sentiment has been noticed in the development-related sectors such as Projects/Infrastructure, Construction/Cement, Oil & Gas, and Manufacturing & Engineering.”

“The year-on-year talent demand trend has shown that the Covid-19 year has not pushed India Inc. backward, rather its marching on a growth trajectory,” Goyal added.