India Hiring Trends August 2025: Why Non-IT Sectors Are Shining — All You Need to Know

India’s hiring market displayed a modest yet broad-based recovery in August 2025. According to Naukri’s JobSpeak Index, overall hiring rose 3.4% year-on-year (YoY), though it contracted sharply by 13.3% month-on-month (MoM). The slowdown on a sequential basis reflects cautious sentiment among employers, especially in IT, even as non-IT sectors continue to display strong hiring momentum.

Ten of the 16 tracked sectors registered positive hiring trends in August, down from 13 in July, indicating moderation in overall growth.

AI/ML Roles Continue to Outshine
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) remained the clear bright spot. Jobs in this category surged by 54% YoY, making it one of the fastest-growing hiring verticals. Recruiters noted that traditional IT roles are increasingly being replaced or complemented by AI-driven positions, as enterprises seek specialized expertise to accelerate digital transformation.

Emkay highlighted that AI is now central to IT hiring. "AI/ML continues to be a clear growth engine for demand," the report stated, underscoring the sector’s resilience even as broader IT services hiring contracts.

Non-IT Verticals Lead the Growth Story
Non-IT sectors emerged as frontrunners in driving job creation. Insurance, hospitality, and real estate recorded 24%, 22%, and 18% YoY growth, respectively. Real estate hiring was fueled by activity in southern markets like Chennai (+22%) and Hyderabad (+18%), reflecting strong regional demand.

Hospitality continued its growth streak with a robust 22% expansion in recruitment, driven by post-pandemic travel recovery and capacity expansion across hotels and tourism operators.
Other high-growth categories included Security/Law Enforcement (59%), Architecture/Interior Designing (57%), Defense/Government (40%), and Accounting/Finance (35%). However, select industries struggled — Recruitment (-23%), IT Hardware/Networking (-14%), and Telecom/ISP (-13%) witnessed steep YoY declines.

IT Hiring Remains Under Pressure
The IT-Software/Software Services segment continued to struggle, posting a 6% YoY decline and a 15.9% MoM fall in August. This marks the sixth YoY decline in the last eight months, underscoring persistent weakness.

Industry insiders attributed the weakness to subdued discretionary tech spending, macroeconomic uncertainty, and delayed decision-making by global clients. "IT players are expected to run operations tighter and maintain higher utilization amid the soft demand environment," the Emkay observed.

While overall IT hiring was weak, IT unicorns bucked the trend, recording a 10% YoY increase in jobs, reflecting selective growth in niche areas.

City-Level Hiring Trends Highlight Regional Dynamics
Metro-level trends showed stark contrasts. Hyderabad posted a striking 45% jump in unicorn-led recruitment, positioning itself as a hub for high-growth startups. Emerging cities also saw fresher hiring momentum — Jaipur (+26%) and Kochi (+16%) led the pack.

Experienced hiring saw a modest 8% YoY growth, largely in Oil & Gas and Healthcare sectors, suggesting traditional industries are balancing demand by onboarding skilled professionals.

BPO and GCC: Mixed Signals
The BPO/ITES sector grew by 16.9% YoY, maintaining healthy momentum. However, it saw a 4.8% MoM dip, suggesting employers are recalibrating after strong hiring in prior months. The Global Capability Centers (GCCs) remained flat in hiring activity, highlighting stable but cautious expansion.

Read-Through for IT Sector and Market Outlook
The demand environment for Indian IT services remains largely stable but subdued. Four of the top five IT services companies reported sequential revenue declines in constant currency in Q1FY26, with management commentary pointing to continued caution through FY26.

Persistent headwinds include macro uncertainty, weak discretionary budgets, and delayed project approvals. That said, deal pipelines remain intact, supported by cost optimization, legacy modernization, vendor consolidation, and AI investments.

Market performance reflects these challenges: the NIFTY IT Index underperformed the broader markets by 3.9% in the last three months and 15.5% in the last six months. However, the index saw a 2.9% recovery in August, buoyed by expectations of US Fed rate cuts and a weaker rupee.

Brokerages continue to favor Infosys, TCS, LTIMindtree, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra as top picks in the IT services basket.
 

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Hiring Outlook Stays Cautious
Naukri’s August JobSpeak data underscores a two-speed hiring economy — while AI/ML and non-IT verticals drive resilience, IT services remain under pressure. With macroeconomic uncertainties persisting, hiring recovery in IT is likely to be gradual, even as non-IT industries and emerging cities provide crucial support to India’s job market.