New Delhi, Sep 8 — White-collar hiring in India grew 14 per cent year-on-year in August, led by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning roles which were up 31 per cent, a report said on Tuesday.
The growth comes amid a delayed onset of the festive season this year, the report from Naukri said, adding that its JobSpeak Index reached 3,028 compared to 2,664 in August last year.
The auto sector recorded strong growth at 19 per cent, followed by healthcare at 16 per cent and retail at 15 per cent.
Among other key sectors, insurance grew 12 per cent YoY, followed by IT at 11 per cent, banking and FMCG at 10 per cent each; BPO/ITES, Oil & Gas and Real Estate at 8 per cent each.
Pharma or biotech remained flat, while hospitality or travel (-4 per cent) and education (-8 per cent) witnessed declines, the report said.
Fresher hiring grew 15 per cent, while hiring for professionals with 4-7 years of experience rose 10 per cent. Mid-to-senior experience bands also recorded strong growth, with hiring up 16 per cent for 8-12 years, 18 per cent for 13-16 years and 13 per cent for those with over 16 years of experience.
“The growth needs to be viewed in the context of the festive calendar, with a larger part of the festive period falling in August last year and shifting to September this year,” said Hitesh Oberoi, MD & CEO, Info Edge (India) Limited.
Function-wise, hiring for healthcare & life sciences (up 34 per cent), media production & entertainment (up 33 per cent), engineering - hardware & networks (up 30 per cent) and BFSI, investments & trading (up 29 per cent) saw strong growth during the month.
Among metros, Hyderabad led hiring growth at 23 per cent YoY, followed by Kolkata at 22 per cent, Chennai at 20 per cent, Bengaluru and Pune at 14 per cent each, Delhi NCR at 10 per cent and Mumbai at 7 per cent.
Among emerging cities, Bhubaneswar (up 32 per cent), Raipur (up 23 per cent), along with Surat and Ranchi recorded strong growth.
IT/Software Services hiring grew 11 per cent YoY in August, with growth visible across key metros. Kolkata recorded 33 per cent growth in IT hiring, followed by Hyderabad at 23 per cent.
Within the IT sector, AI/ML hiring grew 22 per cent, while demand for IT & Information Security roles rose 32 per cent, indicating continued demand for specialised technology talent.
GCC hiring grew 10 per cent during the month, with southern technology hubs continuing to account for some of the strongest growth. Hyderabad led GCC hiring with 28 per cent growth, followed by Chennai at 21 per cent.