AI/ML roles have seen a 54% jump in hiring, demonstrating strong demand for specialized talent in emerging technologies.NEW DELHI: India’s white-collar job market recorded a modest 3% year-on-year growth in payrolls in August 2025, mainly due to strong hiring in non-IT sectors and surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) roles, according to Naukri Jobspeak’s latest report.
White-collar jobs typically refer to professional, managerial, or managerial roles and often require specialized skills and higher education.
The insurance sector led growth with a 24% increase in employment, followed by hospitality (up 22%) and real estate (up 18%). Other sectors that showed positive growth included BPO/ITES (+17%), education (+16%), oil and gas power generation (+7%), retail (+3%), and FMCG (+2%).
AI/ML roles have seen a 54% jump in hiring, demonstrating strong demand for specialized talent in emerging technologies.
In contrast, overall employment in the IT/software services sector fell by 6%. However, IT unicorns bucked this trend and recorded a 10% increase in hiring.
Banking and Financial Services decreased by 11% and Telecom/ISP by 13%. The automobile sector also fell by 3%.
Graduate recruitment (0-3 years of experience) increased by 7%, driven primarily by non-IT sectors such as hospitality, real estate, and education.
Hyderabad has emerged as the top metropolitan city in terms of employment, with an overall growth of 10% and a significant 45% increase in unicorn hiring.
“Two trends stood out in August. One is that the non-IT sector continues to support growth in the job market, a pattern that has been observed in recent months. The other is, interestingly, that Hyderabad has emerged as a hotbed for start-up jobs and has become a leading city in terms of overall job growth,” said Pawan Goyal, chief business officer at Naukri.
