The information technology (IT) sector has experienced a downturn in recent years, not only in India but also worldwide. The sector has faced numerous problems, including the rise of automation and artificial intelligence and changing client preferences. These issues have reduced the demand for new talent, resulting in fewer career opportunities for new graduates.
What may have marred the luster of this golden age is the current job drought in India’s coveted technology industry. Following a very good recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic, white-collar job portals are describing the hiring dip in the IT sector as “unprecedented” and “a near freeze” at the foot of the pyramid.
According to Aditya Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR, a technology employment agency, Positions such as data scientists, full-stack developers, and data engineers will remain in high demand. However, individuals who used to expect job switch rises of 70–100% are now facing lesser increments of 30–40% and, in some circumstances, as low as 15-20%.
In August last year, specialist staffing firm Xpheno and other employment portal sites predicted a 40 to 50 percent decline in recruiting for the current fiscal year. It also entails collateral damage to job vacancies in allied industries such as start-ups and other tech-related enterprises. Data from job portals shows a 78% reduction in hiring for software companies and a 73% drop for start-ups over the last two years. In 2023, gross IT hiring additions reached an all-time low of 14%, down from a peak of 40% in the first quarter of 2022.