White-collar hirings hit record high in February; Kolkata, Bengaluru lead charge

Hiring activity touched new highs as reopening of the Indian economy following two years of a pandemic-induced lull reinforced the positive sentiment among employers and jobseekers, a new report shows.

According to Naukri’s JobSpeak index for February, the Indian economy’s steady return to normality led to sustained hiring growth across all key sectors. The Naukri index rose to 3,074, surpassing the previous high of 2,753 in September 2021. On year, the index surged 31%. 

The JobSpeak, a monthly index, calculates hiring activity based on job listings on Naukri.com on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis.

The insurance sector was the biggest employer in February, recording a 74% on-year growth in hiring activity, followed by the retail segment with 64%. The auto industry also displayed signs of recovery following an extended period of sluggish growth. The sector grew 12% on year.   

Sectors such as IT software/software services (41%), hospitality (41%), banking and financial services (35%), pharmaceutical (34%), and telecom (23%) continued strong growth in hiring activity as worry over Covid-19 drastically reduced in February. Hiring in medical/healthcare (7%) and FMCG (4%) sectors grew marginally.

The growth in hiring activity was led by large metros with the trend in Kolkata witnessing a 56% on-year growth, followed by Bengaluru (49%), Mumbai and Chennai (45% each), Hyderabad (43%), Pune (41%), and Delhi (30%). 

Among non-metros, hiring activity in Coimbatore (57%) was the highest on year, followed by Ahmedabad (32%) and Kochi (16%). Jaipur (15%) saw marginal growth, while Vadodara (-3%) remained flat. 

The hiring trend witnessed a growth across all experience bands. The demand for mid-to-senior professionals in the 13-16 years category witnessed the highest growth at 35%. Demand in the 8-12 years category was at 31%, 0-3 years and 4-7 years at 30%, and above 16 years at 27%.  

Naukri Chief Business Officer Pawan Goyal said on the hiring trends: “…a new benchmark for nation’s hiring activity indicating a favourable time for white collar job market.”