40% professionals expect increase in new jobs in 2021: LinkedIn survey

About 40 per cent Indian professionals expect an increase in the number of new jobs, up from 19 per cent in April, and 53 per cent expect their companies to do better in 2021, a LinkedIn survey has found.

As per the LinkedIn year-end data, despite experiencing radical changes in the way people work, India has remained optimistic and resilient in uncertainty and confidence scores remained steady between +50 and +57 from April to November.

The optimism comes at a time when India's economy is opening up, and the hiring rate continues to recover back to pre-COVID levels with a 46 per cent y-o-y growth as of October.

Also read: India drops two ranks to 131 in UN human development index 2020

As per the platform, online learning and digital skills took centre-stage in 2020. The average monthly learning hours on LinkedIn Learning increased 3X from April to December 2020, compared to pre-Covid months of January and February, says the LinkedIn data.

Three in five (57 per cent) professionals said they increased the time spent in online learning since COVID-induced curbs were placed in India. Working in isolation and navigating a tough job market over the past few months, however, adversely affected India's emotional well-being and financial outlook.

As of November 2020, about 78 per cent unemployed professionals felt stressed, and only 32 per cent expect incomes to increase in the next year. Around 61 per cent said they will take less time off, while 87 per cent said they will spend equal or more time working at primary jobs the year-end.

As per the survey, customer service specialist, data analyst and digital marketing specialist were top three globally in-demand jobs.

"In 2021, skills-first hiring will be a pivotal trend, the CHRO will play a critical role, the virtual collaboration will become stronger, and learning will be part of everyone's job. At LinkedIn, we will continue to help professionals navigate these changes and we will stay committed to helping members get closer to opportunities," said Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, Linkedin.

The social media platform said in its work predictions for 2021 said India will re-imagine the future of work across five key segments -- the workplace, careers, recruiting, business, and leadership.

Also read: Hiring picks up; job seekers look beyond their industry in post-COVID era