Job postings decline yearly, sequential fall

Amid the second wave of the pandemic, online job postings saw a decline in April, both against March 2021 as well as lockdownhit April 2020.

The employment index saw a decline in job posting activity in April 2021 compared to the previous month by 3 per cent. Overall job postings have declined by 4 per cent year-on-year in April 2021 compared to April 2020, Monster.com said.

The job postings for entry-level roles have declined by 5 per cent month-on-month in April 2021 against March 2021. The decline in postings is due to the onset of the second wave of the pandemic leading to lockdowns, Monster.com reported

Industries that exhibited the highest decline in job postings compared to the previous month include engineering, cement, construction, iron and steel, which declined 15 per cent, retail 14 per cent, FMCG, food and packaged food 12 per cent and logistics, courier/ freight/ transportation 12 per cent.

Meanwhile, industries such as travel and tourism declined 52 per cent, education 34 per cent, engineering, cement, construction, iron/ steel 26 per cent as of April 2021 compared to April 2020.

Online job postings in Delhi were down 1 per cent and Mumbai 2 per cent in April compared to March. Cities like Baroda with a 10 per cent decline and Jaipur with 5 per cent have been the most impacted sequentially.

However, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai reported significant increase in the number of job postings year-on-year and marginal growth month-on-month. Agrobased industries, chemicals/ plastic/ rubber, paints, fertilizer/ pesticides and printing/ packaging recorded good growth over April 2020. Software and hardware, telecom and shipping and marine too saw growth in April.

‘The second wave of the pandemic and various intensities of lockdowns across the country have impacted hiring activity. However, hiring activity in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai indicate a positive uptick, and year-on-year growth across certain sectors and functions have been witnessed. These are positive indicators that we are better equipped to face the impact this year compared to April 2020," said Sekhar Garisa, CEO of Monster.com.