Naukri JobSpeak: White-collar hiring grows 14% in Aug; fresher hiring & AI roles lead
India, 7 September 2026: White-collar hiring grew 14% YOY in August, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index reaching 3028 compared to 2664 in August last year. The growth comes amid a delayed onset of the festive season this year.
AI/ML roles continued to lead hiring growth, rising 31% YOY in August. The Auto sector recorded strong growth at 19%, alongside Healthcare at 16% and Retail at 15%.
Among other key sectors, Insurance grew 12% YOY, followed by IT at 11%, Banking and FMCG at 10% each, and BPO/ITES, Oil & Gas and Real Estate at 8% each. Pharma/Biotech remained flat, while Hospitality/Travel (-4%) and Education (-8%) witnessed declines.
Hiring remained positive across all experience bands in August. Fresher hiring grew 15% YOY, while hiring for 4-7 years rose 10%. Mid-to-senior experience bands also recorded strong growth, with hiring up 16% for 8-12 years, 18% for 13-16 years and 13% for 16+ years.
Function-wise, hiring for Healthcare & Life Sciences (+34%), Media Production & Entertainment (+33%), Engineering - Hardware & Networks (+30%) and BFSI, Investments & Trading (+29%) saw strong growth during the month.
Among metros, Hyderabad led hiring growth at 23% YOY, followed by Kolkata at 22%, Chennai at 20%, Bengaluru and Pune at 14% each, Delhi NCR at 10% and Mumbai at 7%. Among emerging cities, Bhubaneswar (+32%), Raipur (+23%), Surat (+21%) and Ranchi (+19%) recorded strong growth.
Hitesh Oberoi, MD & CEO, Info Edge (India) Limited said, “August saw hiring growth across both IT and non-IT sectors and across experience levels. At the same time, the growth needs to be viewed in the context of the festive calendar, with a larger part of the festive period falling in August last year and shifting to September this year. We will have a clearer view of the underlying hiring trend as we move through the festive quarter.”
AI roles continue to drive IT hiring growth
IT/Software Services hiring grew 11% YOY in August, with growth visible across key metros. Kolkata recorded 33% YOY growth in IT hiring, followed by Hyderabad at 23% and Bengaluru and Chennai at 16% each.
Read more: Top IT Skills in Demand
Within the IT sector, AI/ML hiring grew 22% YOY, while demand for IT & Information Security roles rose 32%, indicating continued demand for specialised technology talent.
The broader AI/ML hiring trend remained heavily skewed towards experienced professionals. Hiring for AI/ML talent with 16+ years of experience grew more than 2X, followed by the 13-16 years band at 87%and 8-12 years at 39%.
Among cities, Hyderabad led AI/ML hiring growth at 48% YOY, followed by Mumbai at 36%. Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune grew 31% each, while Kolkata and Delhi NCR recorded growth of 29% and 25%, respectively.
GCC hiring witnesses strong growth, led by Southern metros
GCC hiring grew 10% YOY in August, with southern technology hubs continuing to account for some of the strongest growth. Hyderabad led GCC hiring with 28% YOY growth, followed by Chennai at 21%, Pune at 15% and Bengaluru at 13%.
Read more: GCC hiring trends : Naukri JobSpeak May 2026
Fresher hiring rises 15%, with emerging cities showing strong demand
Fresher hiring grew 15% YOY in August, with demand remaining positive across both established and emerging job markets. Coimbatore led fresher hiring growth at 28% YOY, followed by Vadodara at 24%and Jaipur at 16%.
Read more: Find jobs as a fresher
Among metros, Chennai recorded 15% growth in fresher hiring, followed by Kolkata at 14%, Bengaluru and Pune at 13% each, Hyderabad at 11%, and Delhi NCR and Mumbai at 10% each.