Chennai: MSMEs have increased their headcount by 45 per cent in the past two years and by 15 per cent in the last one year. Enterprises in the environment and renewable energy space have been the highest contributors to this grow-th, says a study by CIEL HR Services, based on an analysis of 350 MSME-related job postings and government data.
The MSME sector has witnessed a steep growth of 45.5 per cent in employee numbers over the past two years. The rate of growth in the past six months has been 5.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent in one year.
“The study has compared the employment data in the past two years between August 2020 and August 2022. After the first lockdown in 2020, several MSMEs had seen significant reduction in headcount. Compared to the low employment levels in August 2020, MSMEs have witnessed a 45 per cent growth by August 2022,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO, CIEL HR Services.
By the government data, there were over 7.9 million MSMEs in 2021-22, contributing about 30 per cent to the GDP and 48 per cent to the overall exports.
Companies in the environment and renewable energy space saw the maximum headcount growth over the past two years. In the past six months, these companies have increased their headcount by 8 per cent, preceded by 20 per cent in one year and 72 per cent in the past two years.
In manufacturing, the growth was 6 per cent in six months, 17 per cent in one year and 44 per cent in two years. The trend was similar in the services sector as well. IT and ITeS MSMEs recorded a slightly slower growth.
Female participation is relatively high in the MSME sector where 24 per cent workforce is women against 18 per cent across industries.
