BENGALURU: With 35% growth, Chennai leads when it comes to white-collar hiring in December 2024, followed by Bengaluru with 21% surge. The Naukri JobSpeak Index saw a 9% year-on-year growth in December, and the report shows South India continues to be a key driver of white-collar employment.
With fresher hiring growing by 14%, Coimbatore emerged as a standout and this was fuelled by a 52% increase in foreign MNC hiring. The report said Hyderabad saw 15% growth, driven by high-skill and fresher roles across sectors like IT, Consumer Durables, and Real Estate.
Pawan Goyal, chief business officer, Naukri.com, said, “India’s job market is entering 2025 with vigour, driven by AI/ML growth and creative sectors. The surge in fresher hiring and evolving C-suite roles shows we’re transforming into a more dynamic landscape. Traditional sectors like FMCG are embracing this evolution, combining fresh talent with strategic expertise.”
AI/ML were primary growth drivers in December 2024 with 36% growth, followed by sectors such as oil & gas (13%), FMCG (12%) and healthcare (12%). Top metro cities collectively posted a 10% growth.
When it comes to fresher hiring, which had majorly been muted through 2024, saw a 6% growth in December 2024, driven by creative, lifestyle and retail sectors like design (39%), beauty & wellness (26%) and consumer durables (19%), respectively.
The FMCG sector achieved 18% growth in fresher hiring during December 2024, and this sector saw the highest monthly increase in fresher recruitment throughout the year.
The report states that 2024 marked significant evolution in executive hiring patterns as seasoned professionals, who have over 16 years of experience, remained constantly in demand. Professionals in the `20+ lakh per annum salary bracket (29%) across key sectors also were in demand.
In December, beyond traditional CFO and CTO roles, demand surged for specialised positions like Chief Safety Officers (14%), Chief Legal Officers (12%), and Chief Medical Officers (3%).