Hiring in tech sector expected to pick up early next year: Experts
The Q1 and Q2 of the calendar year 2023 (January–June) witnessed the most significant impact on hiring in the tech sector in India. Many organisations implemented hiring freezes and even laid off employees during this period, and talent acquisition reached an all-time low. The sector has also been suffering due to decreased demand from global clients and the extra dose of caution the private equity (PE) investors and venture capitalists (VCs) have been adopting in their investment thesis. However, there seems to be brighter days ahead as a gradual improvement is expected to start early next year.
Experts to whom THE WEEK spoke are expecting a gradual revival in the sector that gives employment to one of the largest talent pools in the country. “While the situation remained challenging in the last quarter (July-September), we are beginning to detect signs of improvement. The number of layoffs has decreased, and some organisations, particularly those that were early adopters of hiring freezes, are gradually increasing their hiring numbers. However, the market is still challenging, and we are cautiously optimistic about the emerging green shoots. It hasn’t fully recovered yet, but we have seen some improvement from a plummeting situation. We anticipate further improvement in the next three-four months, and a significant revival in the technology sector by the first quarter of calendar year 2024. The last quarter of this year (October to December) is likely to remain uncertain, although there could be some selective hiring, either by new companies establishing themselves or large established players resuming their hiring activities after earlier pauses,” observed Neelabh Shukla, chief business officer, Careernet.