IT, startup hiring hits five-year low

The number of recruitment mandates from information technology (IT) and startup clients has dropped to the lowest level in five years.

- Devina Sengupta & Ranjani Raghavan

Poor visibility on workforce additions, overhiring, and layoffs continue to plague these sectors, with no indication of significant new employee additions this fiscal year, recruiters said.

"The number of mandates in the IT and startup sector has gone below 100,000 for the first time in five years. Even in June 2020, a few months into the covid crisis, the mandates had dropped to 104,000," said Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, a recruitment firm specializing in tech and startup staffing. Xpheno has also seen mandates for contract staffing drop by 40% in the June quarter from a year earlier.

This week IT firm Cognizant said it would let go of 3,500 employees as it streamlines operations.