Hiring slowdown: Regulatory curbs, feeble festive season hit job growth

Companies in India across several industries have gone slow on hiring mandates, reports LiveMint, citing Indian recruitment firms. The domino effect of a drop in consumer demand in urban areas, stricter norms in the banking sector towards hiring of temporary employees, and a weak festive season are playing out in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal.

For India’s formal jobs sector, peak hiring season is in the festive season typically between September and December. Companies in the consumer, retail, logistics, e-commerce, insurance and banking sectors see a spurt in hiring as people splurge during this period. Hence, the demand for sales, marketing and feet-on-the-street employees who are hired both on temporary and permanent basis. However, this festive season has been a dampener.

“Q4 is experiencing a significant slowdown across sectors ranging from retail, FMCG, IT, manufacturing, GCCs (global capability centres) and start-ups,” said Anshuman Das, chief executive officer of Careernet. “We have seen about 25-30% hiring dip in retail, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), and manufacturing compared to the same time last fiscal year owing to the consumption slump in the economy.”