E-recruitment in India saw a 7% drop in hiring activity in May 2023 compared to May 2022, according to the latest foundit Insights Tracker.

Month-on-month showed a smaller dip of 4%. The Tracker cited seasonality and market conditions for the deceleration in hiring activity.

By industry, 9 of the 27 monitored industries showed an increase in e-recruitment when compared to the year-ago level. The Shipping/Marine sector led year-on-year growth with a 45% increase. This was followed by Advertising, Market Research/Public Relations (28%) and Retail (27%).

On the other hand, IT-hardware, software saw the biggest decrease over the year (20%).

Meanwhile, online demand for professionals rose over the year in 3 of the 13 occupational categories monitored by the tracker in May. HR & admin led growth (8%) while customer service fell by 33%.

Online recruitment exceeded the year-ago level in 2 of the 13 cities.

By experience level, online recruitment decreased by 9% in the 0-3 years’ experience category. Hiring for intermediate level roles with an experience of 4-6 years saw a 26% decline.

Mid-senior level roles with 7-10 years of experience witnessed its all-time low hiring with a decrease of 29% over the year.

Hiring for senior level roles with 11-15 years of experience eased by 18%. Leadership roles with experience of 16+ years saw a drop of 40%.