Domestic demand boosts retail hiring

After a tepid demand environment seen in Q2 of ongoing financial year in the rural regions of the country, demand recovery is likely in second half of this fiscal. That is the reason that most of the hiring in the retail sector is happening in the tier-II and III cities, said FMCG firms

Recruitment Spree

• Hiring in retail sector remains strong amid festive sales
• Ecommerce firms are hiring many gig workers
• Domestic businesses are doing good that global counterparts
• Tech and startups continue to drag overall hiring scene

Bengaluru: Hiring in the retail sector including e-commerce remains as strong as sales touch record high in the current festive season. HR experts said that hiring of gig workers has been strong in the e-commerce space in recent months as domestic consumption remains resilient.

“Domestic businesses are doing good as compared to global counterparts. In retail and manufacturing, hiring trend remains strong as compared to technology sector, which is going through a turmoil. Especially, temp hiring in the retail sector has been sound. This is likely to sustain throughout the festive season,” said a top executive of a global hiring firm.

Ecommerce industry has earlier projected to create 7 lakh gig jobs during this financial year. These projections factored in the special festive sales of ecommerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon in October. As reports suggest that around 4 lakh jobs have already been created, rest 3 lakh jobs are expected to be created in the coming months.

As many ecommerce firms hold another special drive for sales during the republic day period, more gig workers or temps are likely to be hired in coming months, sources in the know said.

Not only ecommerce, the entire retail sector is benefitting from signs of demand revival in the rural regions of the country.

According to Wright Research, the growth in the domestic economy is expected to be driven by automotive, FMCG, e-commerce, manufacturing, commodities, travel & hospitality sectors this festive season. As up to 40 per cent of annual sales of many retail companies happen during key festivals, they are gearing up with the required manpower to handle the rush.

According to FMCG firms, after a tepid demand environment seen in the second quarter of ongoing financial year in the rural regions of the country, demand recovery is likely in the second half of this fiscal.

“That is the reason that most of the hiring in the retail sector is happening in the tier-II and III cities,” sources in the know said.

While traditional domestic businesses continue to hire in the current festive season, any green shoot is yet to be seen in the startup space. According to staffing firms, recruitment in the overall startup system continues to remain weak with no signs of any recovery in coming months. “Both technology and startups drag the overall hiring scene in the last four quarters. So, it’s a wait and watch period for staffing firms,” said the person.