India’s white collar job market recorded a drop in active vacancies month-on-month in June due to a slowdown in hiring velocity in the IT industry collective of services, products, internet-enabled sectors, and startups, according to research from staffing firm Xpheno published in the Economic Times. The overall drop in hiring numbers comes even as non-tech sectors continued to open more job positions amid rising attrition and an uptick in consumption. The IT sector’s contribution to overall active white collar openings dropped to 67% in June as against the over 80% range it has maintained over the year, the lowest contribution that the sector has recorded in the last 30 months. Non-tech sectors collectively put out 12% more jobs than the count in May, contributing 25% of the overall vacancies in June.

Experts attribute the moderation in hiring numbers to a wait-and-watch approach in technology, startups, and allied sectors even as consumption spikes, increasing mobility, rising attrition, and anticipated festive demand in coming months are expected to keep the hiring funnel active in non-tech segments.