Finding the right job is crucial for everyone, but it can also be quite nerve-wracking, making it important for all job seekers to understand the current hiring trends.

To help you with this, Naukri has released the April edition of the JobSpeak report, a monthly index that calculates and records month-on-month hiring activity based on the website's job listings.

Make informed career choices and accelerate professional growth by landing your dream job with this report, as it measures the hiring trends across industries, cities, functional areas, and experience levels.

The Naukri JobSpeak Index—a key barometer of white-collar hiring—stood at 2,878 points in April 2025, registering a 9% year-on-year growth. This marks a strong start to FY 2025–26 after a modest March, fueled by hiring momentum across sectors such as Pharma (+14%), Real Estate (+11%), GCCs (+10%), and Oil & Gas (+9%).

Specialized tech roles also witnessed strong demand, with hiring rising notably for Full Stack Data Scientists (+30%), Big Data Testing Engineers (+26%), and Data Platform Specialists (+28%).

Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri, commented:

"After a few soft months that saw mid-single digit growth, it is encouraging to see double digit growths in several core sectors this year. Strong demand for premium talent and growth in fresher hiring across core non-IT sectors are two noteworthy trends."

Key sectors driving hiring growth:

  • Pharma/Biotech: +14% (led by Life Sciences +20% and R&D +16%)
  • Real Estate: +11%
  • GCCs: +10%
  • Oil & Gas: +9%
  • IT/Software Services: +3%
  • Beauty & Wellness: +13%

Pharma and Oil & Gas led the rebound among core industries. Pharma hiring was especially strong in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune, while Oil & Gas saw increased demand for Procurement & Supply Chain (+25%) and Sales & Business Development (+12%) roles.

FMCG (+16%), Media & Entertainment (+15%), and Beauty & Wellness (+26%) emerged as promising sectors for fresher hiring, signaling a shift away from IT-dominated entry-level recruitment.

Additionally, hiring among start-ups (+15%) surpassed that of foreign MNCs, indicating sustained demand in the digital-first ecosystem.

Operational and backend roles gained momentum, with demand rising across:

  • Procurement, Supply Chain & Vendor Management: +14%
  • Production, Manufacturing & Engineering: +44% in Consumer Durables and +26% in Pharma
  • Sales & Business Development hiring also remained active, especially in Beauty & Wellness (+15%), with Mumbai (+27%) and Bengaluru (+7%) as key hubs.

Bengaluru and Pune continued to shine, driven by startup activity, with hiring growth of 14% and 11% respectively. Within the Banking & Financial Services sector, startup hiring alone saw an 8% increase.

Mumbai emerged as a hub for the growing Beauty & Wellness sector, which recorded an impressive 13% YoY increase overall and 27% growth in Mumbai alone. Bengaluru followed with a 7% rise in this segment.

Consumer-facing roles in metros and emerging cities are gaining traction, especially in industries prioritizing lifestyle, wellness, and services.

The demand for premium talent remained strong, especially for high-salary roles (20+ LPA), which saw a +26% YoY rise. Growth was evident across all experience bands:

  • 16+ years: +21%
  • 13–16 years: +26%
  • 8–12 years: +33%
  • 4–7 years: +24%
  • 0–3 years: +5%

Notably, fresher hiring in the 13–20 LPA bracket grew by a significant +22%, highlighting emerging high-value opportunities for entry-level professionals.

Methodology

The Naukri JobSpeak Index is a monthly benchmark representing hiring activity across industries, cities, and experience levels.

It is based on new job listings and recruiter searches on Naukri’s database, with July 2008 as the base month (Index value = 1,000).

The Index aggregates hiring trends from over 100,000 clients, serving as a key indicator of India’s white-collar job market.

Naukri JobSpeak