Looking for a job? It’s time to head to small towns

In the booming economy, job market is growing owing to the e-commerce, IT, telecom and BPO sectors. But there is a slight twist; most of the hiring is taking place outside the metros for lower salaries.

The economy is growing, and so is the job market, but with a slight twist; most of the hiring is taking place outside metros. What’s more, e-commerce, telecom, IT, BPO, finance and insurance are emerging as the hot sectors.

The-booming-economy-and-job-market-have-increased-hiring-in-the-non-metros-at-lower-salaries-Illustration-Abhimanyu

However, salaries offered in non-metros are at least 30-50% lower than metros.

According to the recent survey by Monster.com, top three cities which witnessed maximum growth in hiring in May this year include Baroda, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad. On the other hand, hiring activity in Delhi-NCR and Kolkata registered the lowest growth during the period.

Another report by staffing firm Teamlease Services saw UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Assam registering the highest growth in hiring activity.

E-tailers are partly responsible for this ‘short-term’ trend, said Amit Garg, executive director, digital initiatives, HT Media, which owns Shine.com. “E-commerce companies are establishing huge base of sellers across the country, for which they are hiring heavily in smaller towns. In metros, firms are hiring selectively for niche, new-age skills,” he added.

“An entrant in sales division would get about Rs 30,000 per month in metro, whereas in non-metro the salary would drop anywhere between Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000,” Garg said.

Companies, too, confirmed the trend. “The hiring trend in non-metro cities is seeing an upward swing” said Tarun Katyal, HR head, MTS India. “New growth strategy, feasibility in hiring talent at lower cost and longevity of employee are main reasons.”