The information technology (IT) sector, with an average gross salary of Rs.341.80 per hour, has emerged as the most lucrative industry in India, a study conducted by a career and recruitment solutions provider in the country said here Tuesday.

 

 

 According to Monster Salary Index, which is aimed at successfully providing job seekers with a benchmark to compare their salaries with other anonymous profiles across a broad spectrum of industry domains in India and other global markets, the IT sector earns 45 percent more than other sectors.

 

 Analysing the trends of the Indian market, the report shows that with a median gross salary of Rs.291, finance is the second most lucrative sector.

 

 The salary index shows that the median gross salary in the construction sector stood at Rs.259 per hour, education at Rs.186.5, healthcare at Rs.215, legal aid at Rs.215.6 and manufacturing and transport at Rs.230.9.

 

 In a developing economy like India, the manufacturing sector forms its backbone. The analysis of the sector shows that the median salary is Rs.230.9 per hour, a figure that is slightly lower than the average in the whole economy. Nonetheless, disparities in salary exist in the sector on the basis of educational qualification/skills of an individual, the report said.

 

 It also highlighted that education sector gets the lowest hourly salary of Rs 186.50 per hour. This can be attributed to the fact that there are relatively more women working here than in other sectors. Women are paid 18 percent lesser than men in the same sector, the report said.

 

 "We are pleased to bring forth the findings of the first of its kind index in the country. This intellectual property has been created with a foresight to equip the industry at large. The country is on the edge of a new wave of development, which is expected to deliver jobs and prosperity to millions," said Sanjay Modi, the managing director (India/Middle East/ Southeast Asia/Hong Kong).

 

 Globally, the same survey indicates that females in the workplace are not being compensated in the same way as their male counterparts. While there has been a great increase in the number of women in supervisory positions, this does not reflect in the salary that those women are receiving.

 

 "The two welcome highlights of the finance sector are that it has emerged second in the league of lucrative careers. Secondly the gender pay gap is 19 percent which is lower than the average in the Indian economy. On the other hand, the IT sector which leads the game has a gender pay gap where women earn around 34 percent less than men," Modi added.