White-collar hiring picks up pace post the festive lull, Oct-Nov clocks 6% growth: Naukri

White-collar hiring has picked up post the festive lull, according to a report by Naukri JobSpeak Index. The consolidated growth stood at +6% in the October-November period compared to last year. The report mentioned that October had registered a 9% drop YOY due to advancement of Diwali dates this year. In contrast, November rebounded with a +23% gain, pushing the index to 3,001 points.

While IT hiring remained flat during this period, several Non-IT sectors witnessed solid hiring growth. Within November alone, Education (+44%), Real Estate (+40%), Hospitality/Travel (+40%), and Insurance (+36%) posted the strongest gains. Notably, high value roles with Rs 20 LPA and unicorn hiring surged in this period, by +38% & +35% respectively.

Unicorn hiring leapt 35% year-on-year, led by e-commerce players at +27%, with IT unicorns witnessing a +16% surge. Senior cohorts in the experience range of 13-16 years witnessed a +50% YOY growth in hiring by unicorns. Entry-level hiring surged 30% nationally, with non-metros taking the lead. Ahmedabad topped the chart at +41%, followed by Coimbatore (+32%) and Jaipur (+31%). Key metro hubs like Mumbai and Bengaluru posted +29% and +26% growth respectively.

The marketing & communications function grew 32% y-oy-, propelled by Real Estate (+65%), Healthcare (+53%), and Education (+47%) sectors. Senior marketing roles (20+ LPA) climbed +28%, with Digital Marketing Manager (+45%), Direct Marketing (+54%), and Head of Marketing (+33%) all in strong demand.

“The growth in Indian white collar hiring continues to be in the 6-7% range this fiscal & this period was no exception. Shift towards Non-IT sectors & demand for high-value roles, continues. One early trend we are observing on the platform is the increased digital hiring adoption among smaller businesses," said Dr Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.