Online job portals emerged in India in the late 1990s, but only began to flourish in the past decade as mobile phone and internet use became more widespread and social networking platforms expanded. The share of mobile phone subscribers more than tripled from 20 percent of the population in 2007 to 70 percent in 2014, and the number of fixed broadband subscriptions increased eightfold during the same period. There are now about 20 job search portals, many of them focusing solely on the Indian labor market.<sup>4</sup> Babajob, established in 2007, is one of the country’s leading job-matching websites. Between 2007 and 2015 more than 858,000 jobs were posted on the site, and over 240,000 employers and 4.5 million job seekers were registered. Babajob is unique in matching workers to potential employers in both the formal and informal sectors. In order to better reach disadvantaged populations, Babajob provides a variety of access options including standard websites, mobile sites, interactive voice response (IVR), text messaging and web applications.<sup>5</sup> A substantial share of the jobs listed on Babajob are entry level, with the largest number of listings in 2015 classified as clerical support.<sup>6</sup> 70 percent of the jobs advertised were based in the country’s 10 most populous cities: Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Thane, Patna, and Lucknow. The average salary offers for all jobs on the website was 13,182 rupees (Rs.) per month,<sup>7</sup> with the average for professional-level jobs (Rs. 14,900) being 17 percent higher than the average for nonprofessional jobs (Rs. 12,739). By city, average listed salaries for professional jobs ranged from Rs. 16,970 in Mumbai to Rs. 12,757 in Patna (a 33 percent difference), while the average for non-professional jobs ranged from Rs. 14,184 in Delhi to Rs. 10,742 in Patna (a 32 percent difference).

4 Though not exhaustive, 22 firms were identified by compiling a list from government agencies and search engines. 77 percent of identified firms provide job-search services, while a few provide job-matching services. Some platforms focus on entry-level jobs, while others primarily advertise technology or senior management-level jobs. Job-matching platforms use different techniques to match workers with job opportunities, including leveraging social networks, providing curated job information based on an individual’s profile and connecting local recruiters with candidates. 68 percent of the researched platforms focused on jobs located in India, with some portals concentrating on specific cities. 5 The Babajob platform works to connect job seekers with job opportunities and employers with candidates for their positions. Job seekers can create a profile on Babajob, search and apply to jobs online or offline, all for free. Employers can create profiles on Babajob and post their hiring requirements for free in a service that resembles online job classifieds, or they can opt for the paid, premium service ( _RapidHire_ ) that offers a facilitated hiring experience. All job posts are live for 90 days, with _RapidHire_ jobs promoted more heavily on the site for a period of time depending on the type of plan opted for (e.g. the basic offering promotes jobs for 15 days). _RapidHire_ also includes other services, such as additional screening, a recruitment support executive, the ability to ‘unlock’ more information about candidates, and SMS promotion of the available job to relevant job seekers within a certain radius.

> 6 These definitions are based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Professional-level positions include managers and technicians, professionals and associate professionals. Non-professional occupations include clerical workers, service workers, sales workers, skilled agricultural workers, construction and craft workers, plant workers, drivers and elementary occupations.

7 Using an exchange rate of US$1=Rs. 67 (the average rate during the first half of 2016) this amount is equivalent to about US$197.

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