Despite the economic slowdown taking a toll on jobs, hiring activity this February improved as indicated by Naukri-JobSpeak's overall job index which moved up 5 per cent -- from 738 in January 2009 to 774 in February 2009.

The improved job scenario in industries like oil and gas, auto, construction, pharma and insurance, pushed up hiring in seven cities of Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Baroda and Jaipur, according to the report. On the other hand, Mumbai witnessed a decline in hiring activity by 5 per cent from January.

The job index is calculated on the basis of job listings added to Naukri.com every month and the data shows an increase or decline in the jobs. To calculate the index, job listings added to the site in July 2008 have been taken on a base of 1000. The subsequent months have been indexed with data of July 2008.

Sector-wise, hiring in the oil and gas industry picked up by 24 per cent while index for the education industry moved down by 16 per cent -- from 1,112 in January to 940 in February.

The pharma industry continued to see an upward trend in hiring and the job index for the industry moved up by 11 per cent in January whereas hiring scenario in the IT- BPO remained stable, whose index moved marginally by 1-3 per cent vis-a-vis January.

WINDS OF CHANGE

* Chandigarh and Ahmedabad topped 7 cities where hiring increased

* Hiring in Oil and Gas, Auto, Construction, Pharma and Insurance rose

* Senior management saw a push in hiring

* Fresher hiring and junior executive hiring remained stable at January levels

* Greater demand for sales and business development professionals and production personnel