Searches for 'remote work' skyrocketed to 966 per cent in April 2021, from the same period last year, according to Indeed report.

The COVID-19 pandemic has defined the significance of skills as the top priority for hiring as opposed to location of the job seeker. This also reflected in another study conducted by Indeed, last year, which stated that the businesses are strategically adopting technological innovations to attract the right skill set and increase efficiency. The study also found that 1 in 2 employers hired only virtually in the pandemic.

Moreover, as the country grapples with the second wave, companies lay their focus on hiring employees that offer the required skill set irrespective of the city of the applicants.  It is expected that employers would increase work-from-home options, embracing hybrid work as the future of work.

Flexibility has always been a vital aspect for job seekers, especially millennials, who today make up over half of India's working population. However, another interesting finding from Indeed, revealed that searches for remote work were higher across age groups of 60-64, 15-19 and 40-44 at 13 per cent each. The searches in the age groups 35-39 and 20-24 were 12 per cent each. The data also revealed that Bengaluru topped the chart for remote job searches with 16 per cent followed by Delhi (11 per cent), Mumbai (8 per cent), Hyderabad (6 per cent) and Pune (7 per cent).

Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has fast tracked the adoption of technology across functions in India and has set in motion the largest work from home experiment of our generation. Our data has reflected the same showing a consistent rise in searches for remote jobs.  As businesses transitioned digitally, it has become a norm for employees and companies to work from anywhere and this change enabled by technology will see more and more companies turning to hybrid work in the future. We believe that going forward, recruiters will focus on role and skills based hiring, thus blurring geographical boundaries."