White-collar hiring steady in March despite holiday disruptions: Report

Hiring activity in India’s white-collar job market remained stable in March despite disruptions from two extended holiday weekends for Holi and Eid. According to the job platform Naukri Jobspeak’s latest report, the index stood at 2,618, only marginally lower than the 2,657 recorded a year ago.

While most sectors hovered near last year’s hiring levels, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI-ML) emerged as major outliers, witnessing 25% year-on-year growth.

The broader IT sector, which had seen a sharp minus 16% contraction in March 2024, showed signs of recovery, narrowing its decline to minus 3%.

Within IT, hiring in the emerging technology sub-sector—comprising companies focused on crypto, blockchain and other cutting-edge fields—soared 36%. Additionally, hiring in IT startups recorded an 11% increase, indicating renewed investor confidence in early-stage tech ventures.

“We were expecting some transient dips owing to the extended holiday weekends in March, and the JobSpeak index is playing back the same, especially in a few sectors,” said Pawan Goyal, chief business officer, Naukri. “However, the overall index and most major sectors staying stable versus last year is a promising takeaway for us. Robust growth in pockets like AI-ML, emerging technologies and senior professionals’ cohort added a silver lining to the March trends.”

India’s unicorns saw a significant hiring uptick, particularly in major metropolitan cities. Chennai led the pack with a 29% increase, followed by Delhi-National Capital Region (23%) and Hyderabad (17%). Within the startup ecosystem, banking and financial services unicorns were particularly aggressive in recruitment, with a 36% increase in hiring—a stark contrast to the cautious sentiment in other industries.

The demand for experienced professionals remained strong, with industries such as auto, banking, fast-moving consumer goods and internet/e-commerce actively seeking senior talent. Professionals with more than 16 years of experience saw hiring growth ranging from 10-29%, with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad emerging as hotspots for seasoned professionals.

Beyond experience, specialised skills played a decisive role in hiring trends. Machine learning engineers were the most sought-after professionals, with an 88% surge in demand. Search engineers were next (39%), with investment banking analysts close behind (35%).

While traditional sectors saw mixed results, niche industries such as media, entertainment and design recorded surprising hiring gains. The media sector recorded a 22% increase in fresher recruitment, with Mumbai contributing a 9% increase in overall hiring. The design sector saw a 30% year-on-year increase, with architecture and interior design sub-sectors recording 27% growth in entry-level hiring.

Meanwhile, the retail sector struggled, witnessing a minus 13% decline compared to March 2024. However, certain sub-sectors, such as consumer durables, bucked the trend with a 9% increase. Chennai saw a 42% surge in hiring within consumer durables, while Bengaluru recorded an 18% increase, indicating that specific retail categories continued to find momentum despite broader sectoral challenges.