New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS): Jobs posted by small and midsize businesses (SMBs) clocked a 60 per cent (year-on-year) surge, with emerging small businesses from tier 1 and 2 cities posting more than 2.1 million jobs in 2022 alone, a new report showed on Monday.

According to a report by a professional networking and jobs platform, Apna, these emerging small businesses have been from across tier 1 and 2 cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru and also from Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

The tier 2 cities that saw the maximum job applications were Bhopal, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Kanpur, these cities had 40 per cent of the total jobs posted by SMBs throughout the year.

"The emergence of tier-II cities becoming epicentres for opportunities has also been phenomenal. We believe that the evolving ecosystem of the rising workforce led by SMBs and MSMEs will become an integral contributor to the growth of the Indian economy," Manas Singh, Chief Business Officer, apna.co, said in a statement.

Moreover, the company said that this year more than 12 million professionals registered on the platform, leading to a 67 per cent (year-on-year) user growth in 2022.

The report says that despite markets opening up, professionals are still preferring work-from-home job opportunities for better flexibility and work-life balance.

The report also mentioned that with organisations embracing the new normalcy post covid, professionals continue to consider flexibility, work-life balance and upskilling as the key focus areas, even more so at present.