IT Sector Layoffs Left Nearly 6% Of Indian Contract Workers Without Jobs In March Quarter: Report

Layoffs in the Information Technology sector reportedly left nearly six per cent of contract workers without jobs in January-March quarter.

According to a Reuters report, Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) said around 3,600 outsourced contract workers lost their jobs due to a slowdown in the sector amid Russia-Ukraine war. 

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ISF is a body of 120 recruitment agencies which provided 60,000 outsourced contract workers to the firms. 

The hiring of workers by IT sector has been impacted by a slowdown in global economy due to a post-pandemic shift and the Russia-Ukraine war which has impacted spending of European clients. 

The report stated that according to government estimates, IT sector employed about  5.1 million workers by the end of March 2022. IT firms have since then fired thousands of contract workers and slowed down hiring. 

ISF President Lohit Bhatia told Reuters that while there has been a slowdown in employment generation in IT sector,  hiring activity remained strong in manufacturing, retail and logistic sectors due to domestic consumer demand. 

He also added that the slowdown in IT flexi staffing sector mirrors the drop in global IT sector hiring. 

JPMorgan analysts had warned last week that soaring inflation, supply chain issues and the impact of Russia-Ukraine war can spell the end of the spike seen in the growth of Indian IT services industry due to the pandemic, Reuters reported.
 
A Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) report quoted by Reuters said that India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in April, from 7.8% recorded in March.