Job market. Fewer layoffs in first half of 2023; IT roles, senior professionals to be impacted most: survey

Recruiters are foreseeing fewer layoffs in the first half of 2023, but information technology roles and those of senior professionals will be the most impacted within it, a survey said on Thursday.

The survey of 1,400 recruiters and consultants by the job portal Naukri.com said only 4 per cent of respondents predicted layoffs and downsizing not to be the dominant hiring activity in their organisations.

However, the survey of recruiters across ten sectors said that information technology roles will be witnessing the maximum impact of hiring corrections, while there will also be some impact in roles in the business development, marketing, human resources and operations fronts as well.

"Recruiters foresee maximum layoffs for senior professionals, with 20 per cent of recruiters predicting the same. Freshers are expected to be least impacted by hiring corrections," the bi-annual survey by Naukri.com said.

The survey said that around half of the recruiters expect high attrition rates of over 15 per cent during the first half of the year, with information technology roles to top the chart.

It said 92 per cent of the recruiters are expressing "optimism" about hiring in the first half of the new year, despite the uncertainties in the global job market.

Nearly half of those surveyed expect new and replacement hiring, 29 per cent expect only new job creation and 17 per cent are looking to maintain their headcount, it said.

With optimistic sentiments being observed around hiring activity for the first half of 2023, Indian employees are expected to bag considerable increments, with more than a third of the total recruiters surveyed predicting an average increment of over 20 per cent, it said.

Despite the current uncertainties around hiring trends at a global level, sentiments surrounding campus hiring in India are optimistic, it said.