Hiring in India is picking up but may take 12-18 months to touch the pre-covid level: experts

India’s hiring landscape is gradually showing encouraging signs of recovery as businesses resume operations and adapt to a post-pandemic world. While recruitment activity remains below pre-COVID levels, employers across sectors have cautiously restarted hiring, supported by digital transformation, remote work, and the rapid adoption of HR technology. Industry experts believe that although the recovery has begun, it could take another 12 to 18 months before hiring returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Recruitment platforms and HR service providers have reported a steady improvement in hiring activity over recent months. According to the Naukri JobSpeak Report, recruitment activity improved by 5 percent in July 2020 compared to June 2020, with sectors such as FMCG, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, IT hardware, and healthcare remaining relatively resilient. Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer at Naukri.com, noted that while hiring across major cities remained below the previous year’s levels, Tier II cities including Jaipur, Chandigarh, Cochin, and Vadodara were among the least impacted. Metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai also showed sequential growth in hiring activity.

Indeed India reported similar trends, with engineering and healthcare emerging as the strongest performing sectors. According to Managing Director Sashi Kumar, job postings were still lower than 2019 levels but had begun narrowing the gap month after month. The platform also observed a dramatic 442 percent increase in searches for remote jobs between February and July 2020, highlighting the growing acceptance of flexible work arrangements.

While hiring slowed during the pandemic, the number of available candidates rose sharply because of layoffs across multiple industries. Organizations suddenly had access to significantly larger talent pools, making recruitment more competitive than ever before. Amit Arora, Founder of EduThrill, observed that the number of applicants per job increased by nearly 120 to 200 percent compared to pre-pandemic hiring drives. This surge created new challenges for recruiters, who needed faster and more reliable ways to screen candidates without compromising hiring quality.

The shift accelerated the adoption of HR technology. With offices closed and face-to-face interviews becoming impractical, organizations increasingly relied on online assessments, virtual interviews, AI-powered proctoring, and automated recruitment workflows. Digital hiring moved from being an optional capability to a business necessity.

EduThrill experienced growing demand for its AI and ML-powered assessment platform during this period. The platform enabled organizations to conduct secure online assessments, automate candidate evaluations, and manage large-scale hiring remotely. AI-powered proctoring using image, video, and behavioral analysis helped companies maintain assessment integrity while eliminating geographical barriers. According to Arora, companies increasingly leveraged remote assessments for multiple rounds of evaluation as work-from-home models became the norm.

Recovery, however, has not been uniform across industries. Insurance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, edtech, fintech, IT services, manufacturing, and e-commerce have emerged as some of the strongest job creators. On the other hand, hospitality, aviation, travel, tourism, entertainment, retail, construction, transportation, and commercial real estate continue to face slower recovery because of prolonged business disruptions.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, Director and CEO of CIEL HR Services, said that hiring volumes had returned to nearly 75 percent of pre-COVID levels in several sectors. According to him, manufacturing, essential consumer goods, IT, and BPM had started hiring again, while industries such as travel, aviation, hospitality, entertainment, and construction would take considerably longer to recover.

Another notable trend was the growing demand for experienced professionals with digital expertise. SCIKEY reported increased movement in senior leadership hiring during the pandemic, particularly for executives capable of driving digital transformation. Well-funded technology startups also continued expanding their teams as businesses accelerated investments in digital products and services.

Industry leaders agree that although hiring has resumed, a complete recovery will require patience. Talent500 estimates that recruitment could take between 12 and 18 months to reach pre-pandemic levels, while SCIKEY projects an even longer recovery of up to 24 months across certain industries. Nevertheless, sectors such as foodtech, healthcare, edtech, fintech, and wellness are expected to recover faster than traditional industries because of sustained demand and changing consumer behavior.

Amit Arora remains optimistic about the long-term outlook despite the challenges. He believes complete recovery may extend into 2022, but new opportunities will continue emerging as organizations adapt to a new normal. He emphasizes that candidates who invest in upskilling and cross-skilling will be better positioned to benefit from evolving employment opportunities.

The pandemic has fundamentally transformed India’s recruitment landscape. Technology-enabled hiring, remote assessments, virtual interviews, and AI-driven evaluations have become integral to modern talent acquisition strategies. Organizations are increasingly prioritizing efficiency, scalability, and data-driven decision-making, while candidates are embracing continuous learning to remain competitive.

Although the road to full recovery remains gradual, the improving hiring trends across key industries, combined with rapid advances in HR technology, provide reasons for optimism. As businesses continue investing in digital transformation and skills-based hiring, India’s employment market is expected to emerge stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to meet the evolving needs of the future workforce.