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.