In post-Covid job market, small towns offer big opportunities

Mumbai: Small cities and towns are taking a leap in job creation in India, as companies across sectors are expanding operations beyond metros, spurring a rise in demand for talent and a diverse set of skills. Jaipur, Vadodara, Indore, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Bhopal, Surat, Mohali, Kochi and Coimbatore have emerged as some of the job hotspots in the last six months, according to Randstad - India Talent Insights Report 2024 (Edition 1) shared with ET.

There has been an average increase of 25-35% in hiring in tier 2/3 cities between 2023 and 2024, driven primarily by sectors such as retail, consumer goods, banking & financial services, energy & utilities, pharma & healthcare and manufacturing, according to Randstad data. The IT sector, however, has experienced a decline in hiring across geographies.

Executives at large companies attributed the rise in talent demand in small cities to increase in consumption, rise in ecommerce and retail sales, and greater penetration of banks and financial services institutions. That apart, several companies in manufacturing sectors - like auto and electronics - are setting up their units outside large cities to expand the talent pool and due to the cost advantage.

"The growth in these smaller cities is mainly fuelled by a large and expanding pool of employable talent, consistent and substantial infrastructure investments, a strong presence of educational institutions (both engineering and management), lower labour/operation costs, favourable government policies, rising disposable incomes driving ecommerce growth, and several companies planning to establish manufacturing units in remote areas," Randstad India managing director and chief executive Viswanath PS said.

"There is an element of duality in play," said Sachchidanand Shukla, group chief economist at engineering and infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro. "That is, top of the pyramid white-collar and similar nature jobs will struggle a tad till more certainty and clarity on global macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical tensions emerges, while the blue-collar and semi-skilled or unskilled segments such as manufacturing, construction, real estate, urban services such as facility management, delivery, security, etc., will find it difficult to attract the required number and quality of people."

Many of those who went back to their villages during the pandemic have not returned to their jobs in urban belts or places of erstwhile work, because they get lot of cushion and support back home by way of various government programmes, such as free food, the PM Kisan Yojana, rural employment guarantee scheme, free or subsidised electricity, tap water and cooking gas, added Shukla.

"Demand recovery is not complete and remains uneven," he said. "From the GDP perspective, the country is still 1.2-1.3 years behind where it should have been without the pandemic."