After two years of the pandemic, the last quarter proved to be exciting for job seekers as the markets finally opened up. Indians gave more than 3 crore interviews in the last three months, a 13.71 percent jump in comparison to the previous quarter (October-December 21), according to , a Bengaluru-based job and professional networking platform.
The country has seen a sudden boom in jobs in the last quarter. Apna.co has recorded a 42 percent QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) growth in its employer base.
Due to the second wave of COVID-19 last year, sectors such as healthcare, delivery, ecommerce were thriving while other sectors had a fairly low employment rate. Fast forward to Q1 of 2022, sectors like hospitality, beauty and wellness, manufacturing, real estate, and aviation logistics are back in action and have seen a gradual increase in job openings as the markets have started recovering.
Apna.co has recorded an 80 and 30 percent increase in job openings in the beauty and wellness, and hospitality sectors respectively.
According to apna.co’s analysis, IT and logistic sectors witnessed the highest hiring momentum for the rising workforce. Real estate, Hospitality, beauty and wellness industries witnessed a sharp recovery this year in comparison to the same time last year.
In the last three months, with a massive 141 percent growth in new users, apna.co registered 48 lakh new professionals on its platform who have been interviewing for various roles across industries. 46 percent of these new users preferred the vernacular interface over English to find job opportunities and build their professional networks. In fact, according to the data shared by apna.co, 45 percent of its user base was seen interacting in communities and building their network.
March logged in the maximum activity from both employers and professionals in the quarter gone by.
Northern India had an inclination towards telecallers, computer operators, and security guard roles, however people in the southern parts of the country preferred jobs roles like business development and logistics. Eastern India users applied for delivery and sales, while professionals from the west were on a lookout for opportunities in back office, finance, driver and retail.
Telecaller, computer operator and back office have consistently been our top categories in all regions.
apna.co’s report also records the changing user interest in jobs across categories. For example, user interest increased by 44 percent for business development, 39 percent for sales/field work, 22 percent for delivery persons, 19 percent for back office roles, 16 percent for computer operators, 14 percent for engineering (across functions) while 11 percent increase for human resources and cooks/chefs and bakers.
Roles such as ward helpers (60 percent), refrigerator technicians (57 percent), chemical engineers (35 percent), welders (32 percent), turner fitter (19.96), draftsmen (14 percent) etc witnessed an increase in applications in comparison to last quarter.
Even though 50 percent of the interviews took place in the top metros including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, Interviews in tier-II cities have increased by 30 percent from the last quarter.
While India has started moving out for work, the trend for WFH jobs remains significant. In the last quarter apna.co noted a 2 percent increase in people applying for remote jobs.
apna.co’s analysis also highlights increased participation by women in the workforce this quarter as they applied for a variety of roles and gave more than 1 crore interviews, a 20 percent increase in comparison to last quarter. Apart from the traditional roles, women also applied for roles such as delivery, security guards, drivers, chefs/bakers, IT support, civil engineers, fitness instructors etc.
Commenting on the growth, Manas Singh, Chief Business Officer, apna.co, said,
“The Indian economy is on an optimistic growth trajectory this last quarter and we are certain that this year, India will finally bounce back completely from the impact of the pandemic. apna will continue being the supporting partner in getting India back to work this year as well.”
Apna.co also noted a 96 percent increase in app installs in comparison to the same time last year.
Founded in 2019, apna.co has secured more than $190 million from marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Owl Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital India, Maverick Ventures, GSV Ventures, Greenoaks Capital, and Rocketship.vc.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti