IT, BPO drive 6% dip in India’s white-collar hiring

NOIDA, INDIA — Recruitment in white-collar jobs in India saw a six per cent drop year-on-year in August, fueled by cautious hiring in the IT, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), insurance, auto, and healthcare industries.
According to the recent Naukri JobSpeak Index, IT jobs saw a steep 33% decline in new openings compared to last year, while BPO scaled back by 10%. Other sectors like insurance, auto, and healthcare also dipped by 19%, 14%, and 12%, respectively.
Still, Naukri.com Chief Business Officer Pawan Goyal noted that the IT sector is recovering, indicating a return to normalcy in India’s white-collar job market.
In contrast, oil and gas hiring surged 17%, particularly in key cities like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Similarly, the hospitality sector added 14% more jobs, and pharmaceuticals increased hiring by 12%, largely due to a focus on research and development.
Notably, Naukri’s latest index found an eight per cent month-on-month increase in AI-related job openings, with machine learning engineers and full-stack AI scientists in highest demand nationwide.