Good News For Job Seekers! Indian Start-Ups To Ramp Up Hiring By 20-30 Per Cent In 2025: Report

Data from layoffs.fyi showed that job cuts in the start-up space have significantly declined by 46 per cent to 8,895 in 2024, against an estimated 16,398 layoffs seen in the preceding year 2023

Amongst the sectors, most significant growth in hiring is expected in automotive, FMCG, travel, hospitality, fintech, retail, and e-commerce.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

Indian start-ups are gearing up to bring in fresh talent as the organisations see an improvement in funding. The firms to planning to enhance their recruitment efforts as funding environment improves followed a long wave of layoffs, a report said.

A report by Moneycontrol showed that staffing firms estimate a 20-30 per cent increase in recruitment among start-ups going into the next year. Data from layoffs.fyi showed that job cuts in the start-up space have significantly declined, decreasing by 46 per cent to 8,895 in 2024, against an estimated 16,398 layoffs seen in the preceding year 2023.

Industry experts said this change in hiring sentiment was attributable to an improvement in the funding landscape. Start-ups have logged an increase in funding by 14 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, reaching $10.9 billion in 2024 so far. This has pushed the firms to focus on growth again, reported Business Standard.

Amongst the sectors, most significant growth in hiring is expected in automotive, FMCG, travel, hospitality, fintech, retail, and e-commerce. Meanwhile, sectors such as telecom, pharma, healthcare, BFSI, and energy are estimated to clock dampened hiring growth, specifically in the first quarter of 2025, the report noted.

The ‘funding winter’ led to a slowdown in hiring across start-ups and also a freeze in investments for 12-18 months. Investment volumes hit a peak of $36 billion in 2021 and plunged sharply to $24.7 billion in 2022. A further degradation was seen in 2023 to $9.6 billion, data from market research firm Venture Intelligence revealed.

Citing Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital, the report said, “Startups are now utilising funds to restructure teams and optimise operations for long-term growth. For instance, a Series A funding round of $10 million typically supports hiring 25 IT professionals, while a $20 million round can enable the recruitment of 40 senior-level executives.”

The report noted that hiring platforms expect continued growth in active demand for talent, while salary expectations are estimated to climb by 5-7 per cent on an average and attrition rates are also projected to stabilise.