Talent freeze: CXOs picked, mid-level waits

From boardrooms to back offices, India Inc. is hitting the brakes on hiring.

- Devina Sengupta

This time, it's not just about IT—mid-level managers are feeling the freeze, while top roles remain the only sure bet.

The crisis in the Middle East, poor visibility, and business realignment as companies measure the impact of artificial intelligence have caused hesitancy in the job market. Slower hiring in India's private sector mirrors the overall increase in unemployment, driven by fewer rural jobs.

"There is a degrowth in many sectors in terms of head-count addition. When compared quarter on quarter, most of the sectors have shown an 18-20% dip in hiring mandates," said Guruprasad Srinivasan, group chief executive officer of staffing firm Quess Corp. "The sectors are showing a kind of withdrawal symptom from hiring."

The year-on-year numbers do not look encouraging either. Quess has about 1,300 open mandates in the IT and Global Capability Center (GCC) sector, about 18% down from the April-June period of last year. Banking and financial services (BFSI) mandates have fallen by at least 20%, while auto and engineering by 13% in the first quarter of the fiscal year, when compared on a like-for-like basis. Srinivasan pointed out that the consumer and retail sector remains flat, while the only sector showing some growth is manufacturing and construction.