Internet and e-commerce unicorns were the key drivers, recording a 22 per cent rise in hiring
Chennai: White collar hiring grew 13 per cent in December, driven by hospitality, insurance and Real Estate, along with sustained demand for artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) roles.
The December quarter also marked the highest growth in 2025, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index. While AI/ML roles continued to see sharp traction with hiring up 53 per cent, hospitality hiring rose 29 per cent year-on-year led by Mumbai and NCR, insurance grew 34 per cent with 57 per cent growth in fresher hiring, and Real Estate posted a 21 per cent rise. Oil and gas as well as pharma and biotech also posted double-digit growth. Telecom and banking services posted a decline in hiring.
Sectors such as BPO/ITES, Hospitality and Insurance showed a clear acceleration in hiring through the year. These segments moved from single-digit growth—or even contraction in the case of BPO/ITES—during the January–March period to strong double-digit growth by October–December.
Fresher hiring grew 18 per cent during the month, while demand for professions with 13 to 15 years of experience too grew by 18 per cent. Among cities, Hyderabad and Secunderabad posted hiring growth of 24 per cent, while Vijayawada market 30 per cent rise. Raipur, Gandhimagar and Kochi were the other cities with high hiring growth in December.
Hiring by unicorns also picked up pace, rising 21 per cent year-on-year in December. Southern metros led the growth, with Chennai posting a 45 per cent increase and Hyderabad growing 30 per cent. Internet and e-commerce unicorns were the key drivers, recording a 22 per cent rise in hiring.
