The downturn comes as several advanced economies are staring at a possible recession.
The total number of open white-collar job vacancies in September fell to 210,000, down 20% from August – the steepest month-on-month fall in 17 months – and a fall of 27% from a year ago, showed the data put together by specialist staffing company Xpheno.
In May, total number of open positions was 330,000. The number of open positions in September was also the lowest in 16 months.
Previous dips and recovery in active job volumes were quick and sharp V-shapes, unlike the current one, which experts said indicated a cooling off in white-collar employment. Economists and job market experts said any sector that has a connection with global demand will see a hiring moderation in the months ahead.
“Global recessionary fears are becoming more evident in data and sentiment,” said Sachchidanand Shukla, chief economist at Mahindra Group. “Anything that has a linkage with global demand… will see a moderation or decline in hiring activity in the months ahead, be it IT services or textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods in manufacturing or pockets of real estate in IT hubs like Bengaluru or Gurgaon that are directly impacted by the US, EU slowdown or recession.”
“However, sectors that do not have direct linkages – such as BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), where balance sheets have been healthy; telecom, which is preparing for 5G rollout; or automobiles, which has seen record order book volumes – will require adequate manpower to service the rising consumption demand,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the International Monetary Fund said the risk of global recession was rising due to the shocks from the pandemic and that things could get worse, while the World Bank cut its 2022-23 real GDP growth forecast for India to 6.5%, from an earlier estimate of 7.5%.
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