Kolkata saw a minor dip in hiring, of about 1.5 per cent, over a one-month period between February and March this year. However, on a year-on-year basis, hiring activity in March this year saw a four per cent rise compared to last year. According to the Naukri Job Speak report for March, major sectors such as oil and gas, IT-software services and auto saw a dip in hiring activity. Oil & gas sector saw a maximum dip in hiring by 13 per cent on a month-on-month basis. Others like the IT- software services and auto saw hiring activity dip by five per cent and four per cent, respectively, when compared between February and March. Other sectors such as pharmaceuticals, construction and BPO & IT-enabled services (ITES) have shown a growth of around 14 per cent, eight per cent and six per cent.
 
According to Ambarish Raghuvanshi, CFO info Edge (India) Ltd - which owns the Web site Naukri.com - March is always been a month where recruitment slows down owing to the appraisal season. “We have noticed a small correction after three successive months of growth in the Naukri Job Speak Index of three per cent, 10 per cent and four per cent (between December and February). “While some of this dip can be attributed to seasonality, it is also a fact that business confidence levels which play a strong role in hiring intentions continue to be fragile. A sustainable positive trend will emerge once the economy and the environment are seen to be in a growth mode,” Raghuvanshi said.

Across other cities where the survey has been carried out there seems to be a similar cautious trend in hiring sentiments. According to the Naukri, report there has been a 1.1 per cent overall dip in hiring between February and March. Apart from Kolkata, the survey was carried out across the cities of Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore. Cities such as Delhi/NCR and Mumbai saw a dip of five per cent each, Chennai saw an 11 per cent dip in hiring during the one month period. Hyderabad saw increased hiring of five per cent, while Bangalore and Pune each saw a two per cent rise.