Hiring rises 5 percent in February, says headhunter

New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Hiring activity in February saw a 5 percent increase over that registered the previous month, according to the Naukri.com, an online headhunter.

The Naukri job index was at 774 for February, 5 percent up from January, thanks to an improved job situation in cities such as Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

Out of the top 13 cities tracked, seven - Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Baroda and Jaipur - saw an increase in hiring. Ahmedabad and Chandigarh topped the chart as hiring in these cities moved up by 26 percent and 39 percent respectively.

However, Mumbai witnessed a 5 percent decline.

'Selective hiring is happening across most sectors now. However, the next few months will be challenging for the industry,' said Sumeet Singh, head of marketing at Info Edge, the company that runs the portal.

Hiring went up in sectors such as oil and gas, automobile, construction, telecom and insurance.

On the other hand, the index for the education industry witnessed a sudden shift, falling 16 percent from 1,112 in January to 940 in February.

Demand for professionals in the hospitality sector too saw a downward trend, the index moving down from 1,046 to 925.

The maximum number of jobs continued to be in the four-to-seven years' experience category, though hiring in the senior management also rose significantly.

The index is based on job listings added to the site every month.