Metros Overburdened, Tier-II Cities Emerging As New Employment Hotspots Today, cities like Indore, Pune, Surat, Patna, and Jaipur record an economic growth rate of above 40 per cent, much higher than that of Kolkata, or even Mumbai

The cities across the country have witnessed drastic changes over the past decade on the back of GDP growth in the economy, infrastructure development and the evolution of the services sector in the country. Metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore have already witnessed the bulk of that development and slowly but surely tier II cities are now seeing a sizeable jump in their economic activity.

Today, cities like Indore, Pune, Surat, Patna, and Jaipur record a much higher economic growth rate than Kolkata or even Mumbai. On QuikrJobs platform, approximately 40% of the traffic is from Tier-II and III cities. No doubt then that these cities are being termed as promising destinations and are emerging as India's newest business locations beyond the highly-developed metro cities. A number of factors contribute to the spotlight on these mid-sized cities which are attracting investments and providing economic opportunities.

Metros Have Reached a Saturation Point

Several metro cities are facing a slowdown in growth thus creating an opportunity for Tier-II cities to boom. They are experiencing an immense burden of overpopulation and inadequate infrastructural needs. With the Indian economy expanding at a faster pace than ever, companies are gravitating towards Tier-II and III cities of the country. Newer markets with better infrastructure and talent availability are being considered as metros have reached a saturation point.

Tier-II Cities Are More Cost-Beneficial

Some of the challenges the metro cities face are lack of skilled people, higher costs and high attrition rate. In comparison, Tier-II cities are seeing an evolving skilled labour force at reasonable salaries and lesser attrition rate, thus proving to be more cost beneficial. On our platform (QuikrJobs), approximately 40% of the traffic is from Tier-II and III cities. We are noticing a phenomenal spike in traffic and demand from Tier-II and III cities across all verticals.

Interesting Proposition for the Millennials From Tier II Cities

One of the other evident changes in mindset is skilled workforce preferring Tier-II cities. MNCs have employees from Tier-II and III cities as there are innumerable professional colleges in these cities from where trained employees have moved to metro cities. Most of them would like to stay in their hometown which leads to easy availability of talent. It is an interesting proposition for the millennials as they can stay closer to their roots, save more and have a better lifestyle. Long commute hours, inflation and poor amenities are reasons for a lot of physical and mental stress in metro cities - these are some of the most prominent reasons that have surfaced up in a lot of surveys we keep doing on QuikrJobs platform.

Many Tier II Cities Are Well Planned and Developed

Tier-II cities offer the advantage of land availability at economical rates, natural resources, cost effective labour force, improved infrastructure, dedicated workers with knowledge of local business and investor friendly policies for doing business. Jaipur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Lucknow are some of the cities that are well planned and developed to cater to the needs of MNCs.

"Make in India' and "Smart City Mission' Encouraging Investment in Tier-II Cities

Owing to government initiatives such as "Make in India' and "Smart City Mission' Tier-II cities are becoming favourable amongst investors as these initiatives ensure local development, support from the state governments and local authorities. Both the initiatives will also be driving creation of new jobs. With the new government coming in and the Tier-II cities doing well in terms of development, there are new business opportunities.