New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) India’s white-collar job market edged ahead in August, with JobSpeak Index at 2,664, a 3 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) rise from 2,576 in the same month a year ago, a report said on Monday.

“Non-IT sectors made a significant contribution to this growth, with the insurance sector contributing 24 per cent, followed by hospitality/travel (22 per cent), BPO/ITES (17 per cent), education (16 per cent), and real estate (18 per cent),” Naukri, a leading job posting platform, said in a report.

However, the IT sector declined by 6 per cent YoY, but IT unicorns bucked the trend with a 10 per cent YoY growth in hiring.

“Hiring rose at both ends of the experience spectrum in August, with freshers up 7 per cent YoY and seasoned professionals (16 yrs) up 8 per cent YoY,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, hiring for AI-ML roles surged 54 per cent YoY in August, continuing the strong momentum observed in recent months.

The upswing spanned across metros, with Kolkata (101 per cent) and Hyderabad (80 per cent) leading the pack, followed closely by Delhi-NCR (72 per cent) and Chennai (67 per cent), the report suggested.

According to the report, the hospitality sector recorded a 22 per cent YoY rise in August, sustaining the strong trajectory it has shown through most of 2025, with seven of the past eight months registering positive growth.

“In August, two trends stand out. One being that non-IT sectors continue to anchor job-market growth, a pattern visible over recent months. The other, interestingly, is Hyderabad’s emergence as a hotbed of startup hiring, making it the leading metro in terms of overall job growth,” said Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.

In August, Delhi-NCR (41 per cent) and Chennai (19 per cent) were the key contributors. The sector also emerged as a fresher hiring hub, posting a 44 per cent YoY increase in entry-level hiring.

Hyderabad marked three straight months of positive growth in startup as well as unicorn hiring, solidifying its position as a key player in India’s innovation ecosystem.

“In August, startup hiring in the city climbed 30 per cent YoY, far outpacing the overall 3 per cent increase. Unicorns showed even greater traction with a 45 per cent YoY rise,” the report stated.

The report highlighted that the Insurance sector posted a 24 per cent YoY rise in August, with Kolkata (36 per cent) and Delhi-NCR (30 per cent) driving this growth.

–IANS

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