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Despite economic uncertainties, the hiring activity among startups has significantly increased in April this year, while there has been a 6 per cent decline in e-recruitment for white-collar compared to the same period in 2022, a new report said on Tuesday.

According to the report by foundit (previously Monster India & APAC), there has been a 4 per cent monthly dip, indicating cautious hiring sentiments among Indian recruiters.

Although some sectors like BFSI (+3 per cent), Travel & Tourism (+2 per cent), and Import/Export (+13 per cent) experienced a boost on a month-on-month (MOM) basis, other sectors, such as Logistics, Home appliances, and Oil and gas, saw a significant decline.

"Although hiring has declined, there are still a plethora of job opportunities in emerging industries for job seekers. Remarkably, the Indian startup ecosystem has taken a turn, exhibiting resilience in hiring intent despite the prevailing job market challenges," said Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit.

Moreover, the report showed that the Retail (22 per cent), Travel & Tourism (19 per cent) are among the top industries exhibiting positive growth year-on-year basis, while BFSI (-4 per cent) and BPO (-13 per cent) sectors continue to be apprehensive.

The overall hiring demand among startups has noted a strong 19 per cent (year-on-year) growth this April 2023 compared to the previous year.

In addition, while most cities showed an overall decline in hiring, startups in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi hosted maximum demand for professionals.

However, in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds, a massive 75 per cent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly amid a deepening funding winter.

There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022, according to a recent report by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.