Online recruitment slowed down significantly during the last fiscal, registering just 4 per cent growth year-on-year in March, the Monster Employment Index showed on Wednesday.

Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com, APAC & Middle-East, said: “The Monster Employment Index suggests a slowdown in online recruitment activity. The year-on-year comparison shows that there has been a drop from a 42 per cent growth in March 2016 to four per cent in March 2017. India has been projected as the world’s fastest growing economy during the current fiscal year 2016-17, however, recruiters are being cautious when it comes to hiring.”

Talent scarcity

Modi said the sluggish response toward recruitment activities could be attributed to the ongoing global slowdown compounded by talent scarcity for niche skills.

“This reiterates the need for upskilling amongst talent in order to remain relevant amidst changing landscape. We are hopeful that this dip is temporary and should soon fade away.” he added.

The Monster Index report further said that the telecom/ISP sector led the long-term growth chart in online recruitment with a 25 per cent growth in March against 28 per cent in February. The year-on-year growth rate in the banking, financial services and insurance sector, however, slowed to 24 per cent in March 2017, from 51 per cent in February 2017 to 24 per cent in March 2017. The production and manufacturing (down 23 per cent) sector recorded the steepest year-on-year decline even in March 2017.