Hiring in India's white-collar job market stable in March: Report

Most major sectors remained up and ended close to last year’s base, with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI-ML) making a significant mark, with hiring growing at 25 per cent year on year (YoY).

Even though March witnessed two extended holiday weekends on account of Holi and Eid, these trends exhibit resilience and point towards positive momentum, said the report.

However, a few sectors ended up in the red as compared to March 2024: retail (-13 per cent), oil and gas (-10 per cent), and education (-14 per cent).

"We were expecting some transient dips owing to the extended holiday weekends in March. However, the overall Index and most major sectors staying stable vs. last year is a promising takeaway for us. Robust growth in pockets like AI-ML, emerging technologies, and senior professionals’ cohort added a silver lining to the March trends,” said Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.

Interestingly, the emerging-tech sub-sector under IT that comprises companies working in technologies like crypto and blockchain witnessed a +36 per cent growth. In addition, IT startups also witnessed a +11 per cent growth in March 2025.

Chennai emerged as the unicorn hiring powerhouse this month, delivering a +29 per cent growth in unicorn recruitment. Delhi NCR followed closely with a +23 per cent growth, while Hyderabad added its own spark with a +17 per cent increase.

Banking and Financial Services unicorns were particularly aggressive, demonstrating a robust +36 per cent growth in hiring, effectively challenging the broader market's cautious sentiment.

The job market revealed a clear preference for specialised technological roles. Machine learning engineers topped the chart with an extraordinary +88 per cent growth, followed by search engineers at +39 per cent and investment banking analysts at +35 per cent, the report said.

While larger sectors showed restrained growth, media and entertainment and design sectors emerged as unexpected bright spots.

The media industry registered a remarkable 22 per cent increase in fresher recruitment and a +9 per cent growth in Mumbai.

Similarly, the design sector posted a +30 per cent YoY growth overall, with architecture and interior design sub-sectors seeing a +27 per cent growth in entry-level hiring, the report said.