New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS): About 92 per cent of Indian recruiters express optimism about hiring in the first half of 2023 while only 4 per cent of recruiters predicted layoffs during the first six months, a new report said on Thursday.

According to Naukri.com, around 46 per cent of recruiters expect new and replacement hiring, 29 per cent expect only new job creation, and 17 per cent are looking to maintain their headcount.

With the ever-increasing demand for tech skills, maximum hiring is expected for IT roles.

However, the report states that business development, marketing, HR & administration, and finance are among the other functional areas where significant hiring is expected in the first half of 2023.

Meanwhile, about 62 per cent of employers across India intend to hire freshers during January-June 2023, according to employment services provider TeamLease.

Despite the global downturn, the intent to hire freshers for Indian employers has increased by 3 per cent (62 per cent) from July to December 2022 (59 per cent).

"Even in the face of a global muted sentiments around team hiring, a large number of Indian employers have expressed their intention to hire freshers; some to create a long-term supply channel whereas others to replace their expensive resources with fresh trainable talents," said Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO TeamLease EdTech.

Cloud developers, investment banking associates, cybersecurity engineers, marketing analysts, social media specialists, content writers, campaign associates, microbiologists and Biomedical engineers have emerged as top roles in freshers' hiring.

Moreover, the report mentioned that the top three industries with the most robust intent to hire freshers are IT (67 per cent), ecommerce & technology startups (52 per cent) and tTelecommunications (51 per cent).

Amongst the Tier I cities, Bengaluru comes at the top with maximum openings for freshers at 75 per cent, followed by Mumbai (56 per cent), and Delhi (47 per cent).