India's Retail Hiring Rises 15% in August Job Market
India's white-collar job market grew 14% year-on-year in August, with the retail sector posting a 15% increase in hiring.
India's white-collar hiring grew by 14 percent in August compared to the same month last year. The Naukri JobSpeak Index, a monthly measure of job postings and recruiter searches, reached 3,028, up from 2,664 a year ago.
The retail sector was a key driver of this expansion. It recorded a 15 percent year-on-year increase in hiring activity. This placed retail among the top three performing sectors, trailing only automotive (19%) and healthcare (16%).
Sector-Wide Hiring Trends
The report from Info Edge's flagship brand detailed growth across several industries. While retail showed strong momentum, other consumer-facing sectors also posted gains.
| Sector | Year-on-Year Hiring Growth |
|---|---|
| Auto | 19% |
| Healthcare | 16% |
| Retail | 15% |
| Insurance | 12% |
| IT | 11% |
| Banking | 10% |
| FMCG | 10% |
| BPO/ITES | 8% |
| Oil & Gas | 8% |
| Real Estate | 8% |
Not all sectors shared in the growth. Pharma and Biotech hiring remained flat compared to August last year. The hospitality and travel sector saw a 4 percent decline, while education experienced an 8 percent drop.
Growth Across Experience Levels
Hiring activity increased for professionals at every career stage. Recruitment for freshers, or those with 0-3 years of experience, saw the most significant jump at 15 percent.
Mid-level and senior professionals also saw strong demand. Hiring for those with 4-7 years of experience grew by 10 percent. The growth was even stronger for more seasoned candidates: 16 percent for the 8-12 year band, 18 percent for 13-16 years, and 13 percent for professionals with over 16 years of experience.
Geographic Hiring Hotspots
Job growth was not evenly distributed across India's major cities. Hyderabad led all metropolitan areas with a 23 percent surge in hiring. Kolkata followed closely with 22 percent growth, and Chennai posted a 20 percent increase.
Other major hubs saw more modest gains. Bengaluru and Pune each recorded 14 percent growth. Delhi NCR saw a 10 percent rise, while Mumbai had the slowest growth among metros at 7 percent.
Emerging cities showed some of the most dramatic increases. Bhubaneswar led this pack with a remarkable 32 percent year-on-year growth in white-collar hiring. Raipur grew by 23 percent, Surat by 21 percent, and Ranchi by 19 percent.
Info Edge (India) Ltd MD and CEO Hitesh Oberoi cautioned that the August figures need context. "We will have a clearer view of the underlying hiring trend as we move through the festive quarter," he said. The company noted that a larger part of the festive period fell in August last year but has shifted to September this year, which may have influenced the monthly data. The overall index growth was evident across both IT and non-IT sectors.
