India’s BPO sector hiring dropped 17% in December
NOIDA, INDIA — India’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry registered a 17% year-on-year decline in December 2023, reflecting an overall cautious recruitment sentiment in the country.
According to the latest Naukri JobSpeak Index, monthly hiring activity within India only saw a 2% growth month-on-month in December, driven by non-IT sectors.
However, IT hiring continues to be significantly affected, pulling the overall index down 16% versus last year — signaling a longer recovery period.
While the BPO industry suffered a 17% hiring dip, the IT sector declined 21% year-on-year in December 2023.
Sekhar Garisa, CEO of recruitment platform foundit, expects the slowdown in IT hiring to continue for the next two to three quarters due to sluggish revenue growth and the dampened macroeconomic environment.
Still, roles like full-stack data scientist, IT infrastructure engineer, and automation engineer saw steady demand despite IT sector challenges.
Other sectors exhibiting cautious December hiring include education (-11%), retail (-11%), and healthcare (-10%).
In contrast, the hospitality and pharmaceutical industries showed positive momentum with 4% and 2% annual hiring growth, respectively.
The report also revealed strong December recruitment in non-metro cities compared to metros. For instance, Vadodara registered 3% year-on-year hiring growth in December – noticeably higher than metros like Chennai (-24%), Bengaluru (-23%), and Hyderabad (-23%), which posted declines.
This shift towards non-traditional hubs further highlights the cautious recruitment sentiment across sectors. As the BPO industry faces a disproportionate December hiring slump, broader uncertainty continues to dominate India’s job market.
