White-Collar Hiring Rises 5% in July; AI Jobs Up 33%

IT and software services hiring rose 6 per cent from a year earlier after an uneven period. Growth was led by Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. Within the sector, hiring for AI roles increased 30 per cent, while demand for IT and information security professionals grew 23 per cent.

Among broader sectors, insurance emerged as the top performer with a 10 per cent rise in hiring, followed by real estate at 8 per cent. Healthcare and FMCG also reported healthy demand. Hiring declined in telecom, banking and financial services, pharmaceuticals, hospitality and education.

Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO of Info Edge (India) Ltd, said the July trends pointed to a market steadily gaining momentum. “Growth in IT hiring, sustained demand for AI talent and continued expansion in fresher recruitment indicate that employers are investing in both future-ready skills and workforce expansion,” he said.

Fresher hiring remained resilient, growing 6 per cent year-on-year. Recruitment also increased across most mid- and senior-level experience bands, reflecting broad-based momentum.

City-wise, Kolkata recorded the highest hiring growth at 17 per cent, followed by Hyderabad at 16 per cent, Chennai at 11 per cent and Bengaluru at 8 per cent. Hiring in Mumbai and Delhi remained flat.

Global Capability Centre (GCC) hiring grew 5 per cent year-on-year, led by Chennai and Hyderabad. Demand for experienced AI professionals and high-paying AI roles continued to stay strong.

The data indicate that while traditional sectors showed mixed results, technology-led and AI-related roles continued to drive overall white-collar hiring growth at the start of the second quarter.