AI Roles, Remote Jobs Beyond Big Cities: The Next Chapter in India’s Job Market

The worst-hit sectors, ironically, are IT and finance, which are the most popular among students looking to graduate with professional degrees.

IT, as is well known now, is a declining sector when it comes to middle-class jobs. Entry-level salaries here have been stuck in the Rs 20,000-30,000 per month range since 2015. Mid-rung salaries for people with five to eight years of experience haven’t budged either, especially after the mass layoffs of middle managers in India’s biggest IT companies. No one would dare to ask for a raise in this kind of environment.

Salaries in banks and other financial institutions have also stagnated for the past couple of years. Most employers in the financial sector now offer packages with a very low base pay and a high variable pay component. You get most of your salary at the end of the year, and that too depends on how your boss has rated your performance.

This has resulted in a large number of financial sector employees feeling disgruntled by year-end, and they end up switching to another employer. In many cases, they go without any significant increase in pay. They accept a similar total package as long as their fixed pay component is increased.