India's White-Collar Hiring Inches Up 2% in September as AI/ML Roles Surge 20%: Naukri JobSpeak

India’s white-collar hiring market experienced modest year-on-year growth of 2% in September, supported predominantly by accelerating demand for specialized technical talent, according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak report released by Info Edge.

The Naukri JobSpeak Index climbed to 3,053 points, up from 3,002 points recorded in September of the previous year. The monthly index tracks national job market trends and recruitment velocity based on new job postings and recruiter resume searches across the Naukri.com platform.

Sectoral Trends

• Top Growth Segments: AI/ML roles posted a record 20% year-on-year increase, while the Automotive industry expanded by 11%.
• Moderate Expansion: Both Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and the BPO/ITES sector recorded 4% growth.
• Stable Domains: Insurance, Retail, Banking and Financial Services (BFSI), and Real Estate activity remained largely steady.
• Contracting Sectors: Hiring pullbacks were noted in IT/Software Services (-4%), Pharma/Biotech (-4%), Fast-Moving Consumer Goods/FMCG (-4%), and Healthcare (-3%).

Metro and Regional Disparity Recruitment trends showed clear geographical variation across major metropolitan areas:

• Southern Momentum: Hyderabad led major metros with a 9% year-on-year increase, followed by Chennai at 6%, and Bengaluru at 4%. Kolkata also matched Bengaluru with a 4% increase.
• Flat to Subdued Metros: Pune remained stable, whereas Delhi-NCR and Mumbai both saw hiring activity contract by 6%.
• Non-Metros: Hiring numbers across emerging tier-2 and non-metro cities remained largely flat during the month.