Over a million jobs to be created in India in 2013

Many new jobs are expected to open up in India in the coming year, offering opportunities to home-sick Indian expats who long for a job back home.

Ushering in 2013, estimates show that the country may see more than a million jobs being created over the course of the next 12 months.

The country suffered from a massive brain drain during the 1990s and the decade after, when professionals left for foreign shores, looking for better jobs.

The trend seems to be slowing down, recruiters say, and in many cases, the expat Indians (called non-resident Indians, or NRIs) are looking to go back home.

Recently, the country’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the number of NRIs coming back to India. “In the past few years, we have already experienced what has been called a ‘reverse brain-drain.’ I would prefer to call this ‘brain gain’ or, indeed, a meeting of minds,” he said.

India is now offering its people the option to come back – jobs are being generated in different sectors and salaries are also going up each year – making the return of the expat population a sweet deal.

The organised sector in the country is set to create about 1.1 million new jobs in 2013, as per a survey released by MyHiringClub.com & FlikJobs.com. Despite all the talk of a gloomy economy this year, India was able to create 700,000 jobs and hopes to beat the figure next year.

The survey, which shows an increase in hiring expectations, is based on responses of 4,453 companies across 12 industry sectors in 21 major cities.

But where exactly are these jobs going to be created?

To narrow down your search, the survey indicates that the cities you should be looking at are Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi (including the National Capital Region, or NCR), and Chennai. Together, these cities are expected to generate about a third (323,433) of all new jobs.

FMCG is one sector to look at for professionals in this industry. The growth of consumer goods sector, food, textiles, leather and related products and the increase in domestic demand is expected to create significant number of new jobs in this sector. This sector is expected to add 176,900 jobs and grow at a rate of 5.3 per cent.

Healthcare is quite a plum sector in the country. Penetration of health insurance and healthcare awareness, expansion to Tier II & Tier III cities are opening up new avenues for employment generation. The increasing demand of medical tourism and alternative therapies are also creating new job opportunities. This sector is expected to grow at a rate of 6.2 per cent by creating 172,800 jobs in 2013.

The IT & ITES sector seems to have sprung up once again. It is India’s one of the largest employment generators in the organised sector. This sector is expected to add a total of 169,000 jobs and expects a growth rate of 7.5 per cent.

Large-scale investment in hotel infrastructure in major cities as well as Tier II & Tier III cities has led to a boom in the hospitality sector resulting in significant creation of jobs at all levels. This sector is expected to grow at a rate 3.4 per cent, adding 106,300 jobs.

Indians are now taking up shopping very seriously and retail is serious business. FDI (foreign direct investment), increase in India’s export, international trade and the immense growth of the retail sector will lead to significant number of jobs being generated in this sector. Spread of retail chains in the Tier II & Tier III cities will create more jobs. This sector is expected to grow at a rate of 10.5 per cent in 2013, adding 102,800 jobs.

Education, Training and Consultancy also looks promising. One of the major factors influencing this sector is the expansion by private players to Tier II & Tier III cities. This sector is expected to add 84,200 jobs and grow at a rate of 1.1 per cent.

Taking cues from other global economies, performance of banking & financial sector is not so excited and this industry is moving almost at a stable pace. This sector is expected to add 72,900 jobs and grow at a rate of 8.1 per cent.

Media and entertainment jobs are also expected to increase. Digitalisation in every sector and digital lifestyle of rural and urban population are providing a lift to this industry. This sector is expected to add 66,400 jobs and grow at a rate of 5.6 per cent.

After having been stable for some time, real estate and construction is also expanding, adding jobs to the economy. This sector is expected to add 51,400 jobs and grow at a rate of 5.9 per cent.

Other sectors that are expected to add new jobs are manufacturing, pharma and renewable energy.

Manufacturing suffers from high inflation but pharma is picking up and is expected to show double digit growth in 2013. This sector is expected to grow at a rate 12.4 per cent and add 43,300 jobs. Power & renewable energy will generate more number of jobs in the coming years after showing lackluster performance in the past couple of years.