New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) White‑collar hiring in India grew over 6 per cent in June, with AI and machine‑learning roles continuing to outperform, posting 25 per cent year‑on‑year growth in June, a report said on Monday.

The report from jobs site Naukri said insurance continued its strong run with 16 per cent growth, FMCG at 7 per cent, telecom at 6 per cent, real estate at 5 per cent and BPO/ITES and pharma or biotech at 4 per cent each.

The report said that the Naukri JobSpeak Index reached 3027 from 2854 a year earlier, closing the first fiscal quarter at a steady 4 per cent growth.

Fresher hiring grew 8 per cent year‑on‑year in June and 9 per cent for the April–June quarter, and hiring growth was visible across experience bands from 4–7 years to over 16 years, the report added.

Hiring for 4-7 years band grew 2 per cent YoY, 8-12 years at 7 per cent, 13-16 years at 12 per cent and 16+ years at 9 per cent in June.

Moreover, city-level hiring witnessed a positive momentum, with several metro and emerging markets outpacing the national trend. Hiring in Kolkata grew 12 per cent, Hyderabad at 11 per cent, Chennai at 10 per cent and Bengaluru at 7 per cent.

Hiring in emerging cities such as Bhubaneswar surged 21 per cent, Indore nearly 15 per cent and Coimbatore nearly 10 per cent.

Across functions, media production & entertainment led with 24 per cent growth, followed by healthcare & life sciences at 22 per cent, IT & information security at over 18 per cent.

“Even as IT hiring has moderated, AI hiring within the sector grew 16 per cent YoY in June. That divergence is important because it shows where tech companies are still investing. AI is increasingly becoming a core capability area, especially as demand shifts towards more senior and specialised talent,” said Hitesh Oberoi, MD & CEO, Info Edge (India) Limited.

GCC hiring remained steady nationally but southern markets outperformed, with Chennai up 19 per cent and Hyderabad 15 per cent.

Telecom hiring entered positive territory in June with 6 per cent YoY growth, after remaining under pressure for much of the past year. The recovery was led by a sharp uptick in fresher hiring, which grew 25 per cent YoY in the sector.

—IANS

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