02 February,2009 11:09 AM IST | | Savie Karnel
Good ol' pharma and education lead the recruitment brigade but those in the IT sector say there will be new jobs this year too
Traditional jobs are back in demand with pharma and education leading the number of recruitments. But recruiters are optimistic that new jobs will be created this year, despite layoffs and the recruitment freeze in the IT and ITES sectors.
According to a survey by job portal naukri.com, 38 per cent of the 1,500 recruiters surveyed predicted that new jobs would be added this year and 37.5 per cent said that new people would be hired to replace the old.
As of December, the index of jobs available fell to 697. It showed a 31 per cent decrease in new jobs since July 2008, when signs of recession started showing in the US. Professionals with four to seven years of experience were more in demand than freshers.
Pharma and biotech jobs continued to see a high with the job index for these sectors being 1,064 in December. Teaching and education professionals too saw an increased demand.
Most affected
Real estate was the most affected with 16 per cent layoffs followed by IT, telecom, retail and auto. Banking and finance professionals saw a decline in demand for the sixth consecutive month. Real estate ancillaries like architecture and interior designing also saw a low.
The job index for sales and business professionals climbed from 786 in November to 819 in December. This increase in jobs may be because companies are focussing on core departments to fight recession.
Exception
All metros saw a decline in job opportunities, with only Mumbai being an exception, which showed stability.
Commenting on the report, Hitesh Oberoi, COO and director, Info Edge (India) Ltd, said, "December was worse than expected. In the coming months, no significant recovery is expected but it is possible that the index will bottom-out at current levels. In this uncertain environment, visibility remains poor."
