Synopsis
On April 2, a report indicated that India's white-collar job market hiring trends remained stable in March. Despite holiday challenges, sectors like AI-ML showed significant growth, while a few others faced declines. Notably, Chennai led unicorn hiring, showcasing a strong job market resilience.Key Takeaways
- Stability in white-collar job hiring.
- AI-ML sector shows 25 percent growth YoY.
- Chennai leads in unicorn recruitment.
- Machine learning engineers see 88 percent growth.
- Emerging tech sectors thrive despite overall fluctuations.
New Delhi, April 2 (NationPress) The hiring landscape in India's white-collar job market showed stability throughout March, as highlighted in a report released on Wednesday.
Most leading sectors maintained their performance, landing close to last year's benchmarks, with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI-ML) standing out, boasting a remarkable growth of 25 percent year on year (YoY).
Despite March experiencing two extended holiday weekends due to Holi and Eid, these patterns reflect a strong resilience and suggest a positive trajectory, according to the report.
Nonetheless, a few sectors faced declines compared to March 2024, including retail (-13 percent), oil and gas (-10 percent), and education (-14 percent).
"We anticipated some temporary setbacks due to the prolonged holiday weekends in March. However, the overall Index and the majority of key sectors remaining stable compared to last year is an encouraging takeaway for us. Noteworthy growth in areas such as AI-ML, emerging technologies, and senior professional roles provided a silver lining to March's trends," stated Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer at Naukri.
Notably, the emerging-tech sub-sector within IT, which includes firms focusing on crypto and blockchain, recorded a significant +36 percent growth. Additionally, IT startups experienced an +11 percent increase in March 2025.
Chennai emerged as the leading hub for unicorn hiring this month, achieving a +29 percent growth in unicorn recruitment. The Delhi NCR region closely followed with a +23 percent increase, while Hyderabad added its own flair with a +17 percent rise.
Banking and Financial Services unicorns were particularly proactive, showcasing a strong +36 percent growth in hiring, effectively countering the broader market's cautious mood.
The job market displayed a distinct inclination toward specialized technology roles. Machine learning engineers led the pack with an astonishing +88 percent growth, followed by search engineers at +39 percent and investment banking analysts at +35 percent, according to the report.
While larger sectors exhibited limited growth, the media and entertainment and design sectors emerged as notable bright spots.
The media sector recorded a notable 22 percent rise in fresh recruitment and a +9 percent growth in Mumbai.
Similarly, the design sector achieved a +30 percent YoY growth overall, with architectural and interior design categories seeing a +27 percent increase in entry-level hiring, as reported.
