White-collar job demand in India grew by 7 pc in July: Report  

The white-collar job market in India witnessed a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in July, primarily driven by non-IT sectors like hospitality, a report said on Friday.

The growth was driven primarily by non-IT sectors, with Hospitality leading at over 26 per cent, followed by Insurance at 22 per cent, Education at 16 per cent, and Oil and Gas at 13 per cent, according to a report based on Naukri JobSpeak Index.

Hiring in the IT sector remained stable as compared to the last year. However, artificial intelligence-machine learning (AI-ML) roles continued their strong momentum with over 41 per cent growth, the report said.

“Non-IT sectors have been showing solid hiring momentum for a while now, especially when it comes to fresher roles. It is encouraging to see this consistent demand coming from industries like Hospitality, Insurance, and Education,” Naukri’s Chief Business Officer Pawan Goyal said.

The Naukri JobSpeak Index report is a monthly index that tracks Indian job market trends and hiring activity based on new job listings and recruiter searches on Naukri.com’s resume database.

Further, the report revealed that fresher hiring grew by over 8 per cent year-on-year, while hiring for seasoned professionals with more than 16 years of experience grew by 13 per cent.

Unicorns and startups recorded a double-digit growth of 23 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, it added.

A wave of hiring activity swept across western India in July, with growth seen in all major western states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Gujarat’s industrial centres Surat and Jamnagar witnessed a hiring surge of over 18 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, the report said.

Similarly, hiring in Rajasthan’s emerging markets, Udaipur and Jodhpur, grew by over 12 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, it added.

Maharashtra also contributed significantly, with Kolhapur witnessing a 21 per cent growth in hiring, followed by Aurangabad and Nagpur, both recording 15 per cent growth.

While overall hiring by Global Capability Centers (GCCs) rose a modest 5 per cent in July, Mumbai stood out with a sharp 18 per cent growth, the highest among metro cities.