With telecom majors focusing on decentralization of their networks by setting up customer centre desks in tier II and III cities, hiring in rural areas will continue to grow by up to 20 per cent, say experts.

"Tier II and III cities offer the feasibility in hiring the talent at much lower cost and retention is also comparatively higher. Though ready talent is not available in in these areas, it is not difficult to train them as per the requirements of the company. So, the hiring will continue to grow in these areas...minimum 15-20 per cent higher than last year,” executive search firm GlobalHunt's Managing Director Sunil Goel told PTI here.

He said hiring in tier II and III cities provides a wider range of availability and decentralised approach, which suits the best as business continuity plan.

It also helps the company in managing lower recurring cost in increments and physical infrastructure are also available at much lesser cost as compared to the metros, he said.

Moreover, retention of employee is also becoming one of the major challenges in metro cities as high attrition inflicts a lot of recruitment, training and development cost on the companies, he said.

Industries like insurance and healthcare have also been following similar routes, he added.