A powerhouse February has supercharged India’s professional job landscape, with white-collar postings soaring 12% year-over-year to 3,233 on the Naukri JobSpeak Index—from 2,890 the previous year. Released Tuesday, the data paints a picture of renewed hiring vigor.
From January, the index rocketed 23%—beating the norm of 13-16%. Entry-level freshers (0-3 years) grabbed 17% more offers annually, while ultra-premium jobs over ₹20 lakh saw 23% demand explosion.
Insurance dominated gains at 28%, trailed by BPO/ITeS (22%), real estate (19%), hospitality/travel (15%), and retail (14%). IT, long mired in slowdown, notched 6% growth, fueled by AI/ML’s 49% annual blast-off.
IT’s sub-sectors tell the story: low-end salaries (₹50L) vaulted 45%. Freshers in IT gained 8%, powered by Indian MNCs’ 55% surge; AI/ML within IT jumped 40%.
Non-IT sectors led fresher hiring overall. Dr. Pawan Goyal, Naukri’s CBO, hailed the 23% MoM rise as proof of IT rebound and AI bets by homegrown MNCs. ‘Pre-new FY pace is impressively solid,’ he said.
Month-over-month fireworks included BPO/ITeS +48%, insurance +42%, retail/hospitality +39%. Fresher high-pay roles +30% YoY; mid-career pros (13-16 yrs) +50%.
Indian MNCs expanded 24% total, dominating AI/ML at +82% vs. foreign MNCs’ 43%. This February frenzy positions India’s job market for a dynamic fiscal kickoff, blending tech innovation with broad sectoral recovery.