India’s white-collar hiring market showed a shift towards specialised artificial intelligence skills and experienced professionals in September, according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak report. Overall white-collar hiring increased 2% year on year, while demand for AI and machine learning professionals recorded stronger growth.
AI and Machine Learning Hiring Grows
Hiring for artificial intelligence and machine learning roles increased 20% year on year in September. The auto sector recorded 11% growth, while BPO, IT-enabled services and global capability centres each grew 4%.
The Naukri JobSpeak Index reached 3,053 in September compared with 3,002 during the same month of the previous year, indicating relatively stable overall recruitment despite significant differences between sectors.
Experienced Professionals Gain Demand
Hiring growth was stronger among professionals with substantial experience. Recruitment for candidates with 8 to 12 years of experience increased 5%, while hiring for professionals with 13 to 16 years of experience rose 7%. Those with more than 16 years of experience recorded 5% growth.
In comparison, hiring for professionals with four to seven years of experience declined 2%, while fresher hiring increased by only 1% year on year.
Traditional Sectors See Declines
Several established sectors recorded weaker hiring during September. IT and software services, pharma and biotech, and FMCG each declined 4%, while healthcare hiring fell 3%.
Education hiring declined 18% and hospitality and travel fell 11%. Insurance, retail, banking and financial services, and real estate remained relatively stable.
Specialised AI Skills Gain Importance
The hiring figures reflect growing employer interest in specialised AI capabilities. Skills connected with large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, AI solutions, Azure AI and prompt engineering have become increasingly relevant in technology recruitment.
AI-related requirements are also expanding beyond traditional technology positions as businesses integrate AI tools into marketing, finance, customer service, operations and other functions.
Hiring Varies Across Cities
Hyderabad recorded 9% year-on-year hiring growth in September, followed by Chennai at 6%. Bengaluru and Kolkata each recorded 4% growth, while Pune remained stable.
Delhi-NCR and Mumbai recorded 6% declines. Hiring across emerging cities remained broadly flat during the month.
Latest Status
The September hiring data indicates that India’s white-collar recruitment market remained broadly stable while demand became more concentrated around specialised AI capabilities and experienced professionals. AI and machine learning recorded the strongest sector-specific growth, while fresher hiring remained almost unchanged.