AI-Driven Growth Fuels Indian Job Market Resurgence

The Indian white-collar job market experienced a 4% year-on-year growth in February, primarily driven by recruitment in the AI/ML and hospitality sectors. The Naukri JobSpeak Index highlights growth in real estate, FMCG, and pharma, while IT showed signs of recovery after declines in 2024.

The Indian white-collar job market continues its upward trajectory with a 4% growth recorded in February compared to the previous year, a report from Naukri.com revealed on Monday. The surge is largely attributed to recruitment in the rapidly expanding fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), as well as the hospitality sector.

Naukri.com's JobSpeak Index, a monthly tracker of Indian job market trends, noted a promising start to the year with positive growth observed both in January and February. Naukri Chief Business Officer Pawan Goyal emphasized that while AI/ML hiring remains strong, it's encouraging to see the hospitality industry also driving this growth dynamic.

Additionally, the report outlined notable performances in other industries: real estate saw a 9% rise, FMCG improved by 8%, pharma by 5%, and GCC by 2%, while the banking sector registered a 6% decline. IT hiring remained flat but showed recovery potential, especially in emerging tech hubs like Jaipur and Coimbatore.

(With inputs from agencies.)