Automobile, IT services, consumer goods and financial sectors are top job growth drivers in the North Eastern states leading to 5-30 % annual growth in talent demand in the region, says a report.

An analysis of TimesJobs.com RecruiteX data from Feb 2014-Feb 2015 shows that the North-eastern states are emerging as new job hotspots.

“Improving interstate infrastructure, telecommunications are providing a strong impetus to economic development and job growth in the Northeast. With a young, ambitious, well- educated population it is quite possible that the Northeast is going to be the new ITeS (IT enabled services) & BPO hub of India,” TimesJobs.com COO Vivek Madhukar said.

These new findings refute the perception that the North- East does not offer good employment opportunities.

Improving job market in the region are due to improved infrastructure, consumer sentiments and investments in IT and core manufacturing sectors such as automobile, consumer durables and FMCG, TimesJobs.com said.

In fact, the percentage growth in demand for talent in the eight states is higher than that in the metro cities according to the TimesJobs report.

In the average year-on-year analysis, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim reported growth rates in the range of 5-30 % for talent demand. In comparison, the top five metros reported an average growth of just 2 % in the same period.

According to the report, there are more jobs available in the salary bracket of Rs 15-25 lakh as compared to the Rs 4 lakh plus salary bracket in Manipur.

Arunachal Pradesh is another major gainer with an average y-o-y growth of 19 % in talent demand among the eight states. Interestingly, the highest numbers of jobs are available in the Rs 4-10-lakh salary bracket in the state.

“This clearly indicates that residents of the North-East are likely to earn more in their hometowns than in metros in similar job profiles. Sectors such as education, travel and tourism, FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) and BFSI (Banking, Financial services and Insurance) are strong across the region,” the report said.

Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram have also reported higher average y-o-y growth in talent demand than the metros.

In Sikkim, the demand for talent is up by 6 % in hospitality, IT-software and biotech and pharma. However, demand is mostly for entry-level roles with salaries going up to just Rs 2 lakh per annum.