India's IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry experienced the maximum increase in employment of 287,000 jobs during the first three months of 2011.

This is according to official quarterly figures from the Indian government which look at eight sectors across 21 centres in 11 states and indicate the sector saw a particularly strong rise in employment during the period to March, compared with the last three months of 2010.

The Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India report looks at the conditions in the labor market since the global crisis in 2008 and points to 16,000 jobs generated in the metals market in the first quarter of 2011 and 6,000 in the transport industry.

Covering the first quarter of 2011 and produced by the Labour Bureau, the study also reveals there has been a continuous rise in employment in India from July 2009

Those seeking IT jobs in India may also be interested to learn there has been a year-on-year increase in IT and BPO jobs of 665,000 to March 2011, accounting for the majority of a 979,000 climb in the number of people in work.

In related news, official statistics have shown that 51 per cent of workers in India were self employed in June 2010, while 33.5 per cent were casual staff and 15.6 per cent were salaried employees.

Posted by Kate Griffin