New startups in India surge by 37%, jobs up 9%: Report

The number of new startups surged by 37%, leading to a 14% surge in the number of jobs, as per data released by the foundit Insights Tracker (fit). The overall hiring index experienced a rise from 276 in March 2024 to 300 in April 2024, marking a 9% increase, signalling a recovery in job opportunities.

In the realm of information technology (IT) services, startup employment grew steadily from 20% to 23% between April 2023 and April 2024. Conversely, sectors like internet, BFSI/fintech, and media & entertainment observed a slight decline in hiring during the same period. However, startups in education/e-learning/edtech reported consistent growth of 8% between April 2023 and April 2024.

Fresh talent, with 0 to 3 years of experience, remains in high demand, accounting for 53% of all available jobs according to the latest findings. Sales roles have seen a significant uptick, increasing from 9% in April 2023 to 23% in April 2024, while product-related roles also improved marginally from 8% to 9% during the same period. Conversely, there was decreased demand for IT (from 42% in April 2023 to 23% in April 2024), consulting (from 27% in April 2023 to 17% in April 2024), and marketing (from 7% in April 2023 to 5% in April 2024) roles.

Key metropolitan areas such as Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai continue to dominate as startup hubs, hosting 31%, 23%, and 18% of startup jobs, respectively, in April 2024. Nevertheless, the startup landscape is diversifying, with non-metro locations emerging as burgeoning entrepreneurial centers.

Regarding work arrangements, there has been a shift back to office-based work, with remote work opportunities declining from 8% in April 2023 to 3% in April 2024.

In terms of specific sectors, the production and manufacturing industry witnessed a remarkable 31% surge in hiring year-on-year (YoY). Similarly, the home appliances sector experienced notable 27% YoY growth in hiring, attributed to weather predictions made by IMD for heatwaves and above-normal temperatures. Healthcare also saw a revival, with a 10% YoY increase and a 6% monthly uptick in hiring. Moreover, there was a 23% YoY surge in online hiring activity within the hospitality sector.

Conversely, sectors such as agro-based industries (-22%), shipping/marine (-19%), FMCG (-6%), and printing/packaging (-7%) observed declines in hiring on a yearly basis. Moderately growing sectors include retail (18%), automotive (15%), real estate (11%), IT (9%), and oil/gas/power (14%).

In Tier-2 cities, Jaipur and Kolkata demonstrated significant job growth, with Jaipur seeing a 24% yearly increase and Kolkata with a 23% increase in hiring.