India’s white-collar job market started FY27 positively, with a 6% year-on-year increase, driven by growth in the insurance sector, as per the ‘Naukri JobSpeak’ report. The job index rose to 3,045 points in April, marking a 6% rise from 2,878 points, with a 9% year-on-year growth in the three-month moving average from February to April.
Sector-wise, insurance recorded a significant 21% growth, while BPO/ITES and real estate sectors saw increases of 15% and 12% respectively. Healthcare and education also experienced growth at 11% and 9% respectively. However, telecom and banking sectors faced declines of 11% and 10% over four months, while IT, pharma, and auto sectors remained relatively stable.
Fresh hiring for roles with 0-3 years of experience surged by 11% year-on-year, and there was a 15% increase in demand for positions offering more than 20 lakh per annum. Roles in AI/ML exhibited robust growth at over 32%, with professionals having 13-16 years of experience seeing the highest growth at over 53%.
In terms of metro cities, southern cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai led the growth, with year-on-year increases of over 12%, 7%, and 6% respectively. Delhi-NCR grew by around 3%, Kolkata remained steady, while Mumbai was the only major metro with negative growth. Emerging cities such as Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad also showed strong growth, emphasizing the rising hiring demand in tier-II markets.
Hitesh Oberoi, MD and CEO of Info Edge, noted, “While IT hiring remains steady, there is a slight slowdown in banking. Overall, the job market shows resilience, with changes in sectors influencing the hiring landscape.”
