Hiring cools in small cities as talent swells in top metros

The worst decline has been in IT and outsourcing, manufacturing, and consumer sectors

- Devina Sengupta

Recruitments in India’s smaller cities have plunged from the previous year’s levels, executives in the recruitment industry said, as the availability of qualified talent rises in the metros. The worst decline has been in the IT and outsourcing, manufacturing and engineering, and consumer sectors, they said.

During the days of the pandemic, companies aggressively hired workers to meet soaring demand, driving up salaries in big cities. This prompted many of them to turn to tier-2 and tier-3 cities for workers. Since the market has turned sluggish now, talent costs have cooled, and companies are asking staff from smaller cities to relocate to metros for the same pay.