Online hiring activities for white collar jobs declined in April compared to the year-ago period amid a challenging environment for businesses, according to a report.

The report also suggested that despite economic uncertainties, hiring activities among startups have significantly increased in April.

While there has been a 6 per cent decline in e-recruitment for white collar jobs in April, compared to the same month last year, the market for new and emerging job roles was up, according to foundit Insights Tracker (fIT).

"The current global economic uncertainties have created a challenging environment for businesses, forcing them to navigate a rapidly changing environment. Although hiring has declined, there are still a plethora of job opportunities in emerging industries for job seekers," foundit (previously Monster APAC and ME), a Quess company, CEO Sekhar Garisa said.

He said the Indian startup ecosystem has taken a turn, exhibiting resilience in hiring intent despite the prevailing job market challenges.

"While we expect cautious hiring sentiments to persist, we remain optimistic about job opportunities for candidates, particularly as startups continue to propel the demand for talent and innovation," Garisa added.

Foundit Insights Tracker is based on data on its platform from April 2022 to April 2023.

In the startup ecosystem, while edtech was among the top 5 industries hiring, the sector held a much larger share last year, the report said.

Other segments such as BFSI/fintech, and media and entertainment also accounted for considerable demand in the startup hiring space, it stated.

On the other hand, healthcare and BPO startups showed a negative hiring intent, it added.

Job postings by startups have been driven by increased hiring across metros, and robust hiring has also been noted for remote roles.

Bengaluru (33 per cent) accounted for the highest share of startup jobs, and Delhi, Mumbai and Pune also hosted notable demand trends, it added.

Meanwhile, the report revealed that the retail sector has grown 22 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY), which is encouraging for job seekers in emerging industries.

The report noted that e-commerce has contributed significantly to this growth, with India now home to some of the largest online retailers.

This expansion has increased demand for skilled professionals on the shop floor, providing ample opportunities for retail job seekers, it said.

Furthermore, hiring in travel and tourism has also experienced a growth of 19 per cent YoY, as domestic and international travel spiked this summer, it stated.

The telecom sector's job market grew by 14 per cent YoY, putting it among the top three most actively hiring sectors, the report said.

It also added that cybersecurity professionals are in high demand attributed to the increasing dependence on technology and digital platforms, which has consequently led to a rise in cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Other sectors that have shown growth momentum annually include NGO/social services (11 per cent), advertising, market research and public relations (7 per cent), oil/gas (3 per cent) and shipping/marine (2 per cent).

However, on the downside, BFSI (4 per cent) and BPO/ITES (13 per cent) sectors continued to witness a decline in hiring as companies watched their spends on talent acquisition.

Other sectors like healthcare, biotechnology and life science (16 per cent), import/export (19 per cent), agro-based industries (20 per cent) and IT-hardware/software (22 per cent) also saw a significant decline in their hiring patterns in April compared to the year-ago period.

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