New Delhi: Non-IT sectors emerged as the primary drivers of hiring in India through most of the year, while IT hiring remained largely stable after a subdued start, a report showed on Monday. Non-IT sectors recorded
stronger momentum. Hospitality emerged as a standout, posting 23 per cent growth in the latter part of the year.
Education hiring rose sharply, closing the year with 28 per cent growth, while real estate registered a 17 per cent increase. Insurance also delivered double-digit growth in the second half, following a sharp rebound earlier in the year, according to the report by Naukri. After a cautious start, the Indian white-collar job market gathered momentum through the year, averaging mid-single-digit growth and closing 2025 on a healthy footing, supported largely by non-IT sectors and a continued surge in AI and machine learning roles.
Hiring activity in 2025 started with a steady growth of 2 per cent during the January–March period, before accelerating through the rest of the year. Overall hiring averaged approximately 6–7 per cent year-on-year growth, with notable spikes in November (+23 per cent), June (+11 per cent) and September (+10 per cent). “As the year draws to a close, the hiring trends of 2025 point to optimism. Demand for AI/ML and other specialised roles is expected to remain strong, while non-IT sectors and emerging cities are likely to continue playing a larger role in job creation,” the report mentioned.
IT-software hiring declined by 2 per cent in Q1 (calendar year 2025) but showed signs of stabilisation from Q2 onwards, with marginal improvements in select months. AI and machine learning stood out as the strongest growth engine of 2025. AI/ML hiring grew 41 per cent year-on-year between January to November and recorded uninterrupted growth for six consecutive quarters. Growth accelerated through the year, crossing the 50 per cent mark in the second half of 2025. Fresher hiring gained momentum through the year, particularly in the second half.
A notable shift was the increasing prominence of non-metro cities in fresher hiring. Cities such as Kolhapur, Guwahati, Patna, Mangalore and Udaipur featured among the top locations for fresher hiring across different quarters, highlighting the gradual decentralisation of entry-level opportunities beyond traditional metros, said the Naukri report. Global Capability Centre (GCC) hiring remained broadly stable in 2025, recording around 3 per cent year-on-year growth in the latter part of the year, it added.
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