White-collar hiring remains stable in May led by AI/ML, insurance-related roles
New Delhi, June 2
White-collar hiring remained stable in May 2026, as the insurance sector continued to lead with a over 19 per cent year-on-year growth followed by BPO/ITES at over 9 per cent, a report said on Tuesday.
The report from jobs portal Naukri said that healthcare at over 6 per cent and hospitality at over 5 per cent were other top growing sectors. Its Naukri JobSpeak Index touched 2836 in May 2026, marginally higher than the 2807 mark recorded in the same month last year.
Among major metros, Hyderabad continued to post positive hiring growth at over 6 per cent YoY, while emerging cities such as Coimbatore grew at over 8 per cent and Surat at over 9 per cent. Fresher hiring and AI or machine learning (ML) roles grew 7 per cent and 22 per cent respectively on an annual basis.
"While the job market remained stable in May, demand for high-value talent continued to stand out across industries, led by AI or ML roles. Hiring for these roles offering salaries above Rs 30 LPA grew 27 per cent," said Hitesh Oberoi, MD & CEO, Info Edge (India) Limited.
Hitesh also noted strong fresher hiring momentum in emerging cities like Jaipur & Coimbatore
Senior professionals remained the most sought-after talent for AI-ML roles, with hiring for professionals in the 13-16 years' experience band growing by 32 per cent, followed by a 28 per cent increase for those with over 16 years of experience.
While fresher hiring grew 7 per cent YoY in May 2026, demand was primarily driven by customer-facing roles.
GCC hiring witnessed a healthy growth of over 8 per cent across leading metro markets, led by Chennai at over 25 per cent, Hyderabad at over 20 per cent and Pune at over 16 per cent.
Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai saw positive hiring growth by GCCs, during the month.
Hiring in sectors such as FMCG, retail and real estate remained largely flat. Meanwhile, banking, telecom, pharma, IT, auto, education and oil & gas saw a decline in hiring during the month ranging from 6 to 15 per cent.
The FMCG sector, however, recorded positive momentum in southern markets, with hiring rising by over 14 per cent in Hyderabad and over 17 per cent in Chennai.
Among cities, Hyderabad led AI hiring growth with a 44 per cent surge, followed by Delhi NCR at 34 per cent and Chennai at 31 per cent.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Happy to see insurance and healthcare doing well—these are stable sectors even in downturns. But I'm worried about banking and pharma declining by 6-15%. That's a lot. Also, why is fresher hiring only 7% growth when AI/ML roles are booming? Shouldn't companies be investing in fresh talent for emerging tech? 🤔
As someone working in GCC hiring, this report matches what I see on ground. Chennai and Hyderabad are really stepping up—25% and 20% GCC growth is impressive. But I'd like to see more opportunities in smaller cities beyond Coimbatore and Surat. Tier-2 towns have talent too, yaar. The 27% growth in 30 LPA+ AI roles shows the premium on high-end skills.
Stable hiring is better than a crash, but I'm not celebrating. FMCG, retail, real estate flat? That means consumer confidence is shaky. And banking and IT declining by 6-15%? Those are backbone sectors. The AI/ML growth is great for a few, but what about the thousands of engineers with traditional skills? Not everyone can pivot to machine learning overnight. 😔
BPO/ITES growing at over 9% is interesting—shows India is still the world's back office. But I'm curious about AI/ML roles paying 30 LPA+ growing 27%. That's serious money for serious skills. The demand for 13-16 year experienced folks tells me companies want people who can manage AI projects end-to-end, not just code models. Good to see Chennai and Hyderabad leading AI hiring too—south India shining again! 🌟
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