White-collar hiring surged by 10% in October, driven largely by demand for new-age roles in areas like AI and machine learning (AI/ML), according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak Index. Key sectors fueling this growth include oil & gas (up 18%), pharma & biotech (12%), FMCG (8%), and IT (6%), with IT recording growth in hiring during four of the last seven months of the current fiscal.
“AI/ML roles witnessed an exceptional 39% annual and 2% monthy growth. IT unicorns demonstrated strong performance with a 28% increase in white-collar hiring. Overall, global capability centers (GCCs) demonstrated consistent growth with a 17% year-on-year increase. Notably, GCCs showed significant traction in emerging hubs like Kolkata (68.46% growth) and Ahmedabad (47.68%) indicating a growing preference among international companies to expand beyond traditional tech centres for their India operations,” the Index said.
The Index also highlighted that data-centric roles and hiring in Southern states led the growth in October. Tamil Nadu topped the list with 24% annual growth, followed by Telangana (16%), Karnataka (12%), Andhra Pradesh (9%), and Kerala (7%). “Hyderabad and Chennai were leaders in hiring for the research & analytics industry, showing impressive growth of 51% and 50%, respectively. Cochin led the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector with a 40% annual increase,” it noted.
Freshers’ hiring, which had been sluggish through 2024, showed a positive turn with a 6% annual increase in October. Sectors contributing to this upswing include architecture & interior design (up 57%), KPO & analytics (39%) and agriculture & dairy (36%).
“We are particularly thrilled to see synchronised expansion across IT and non-IT sectors. The accelerating pace of fresher hiring is a strong indicator of business confidence and presents exciting opportunities for upcoming graduates,” said Pawan Goyal, chief business officer at Naukri.
Senior roles and strategic hires are also key drivers of market growth. The segment for professionals with over 16 years of experience registered a 23% annual increase, with hiring for top management and strategic roles up 21% in October 2024.
The Index highlighted FMCG and pharma as particularly interested in experienced hires. FMCG recorded a 25% rise in hiring for the 16-plus years’ experience bracket, while the pharma sector saw a 17% increase in the same category.