New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): Hiring for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) roles continued to lead the growth in India's white-collar job market, rising 31 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August, while hiring by Global Capability Centres (GCCs) grew 10 per cent, mainly driven by southern cities, according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak report.

Overall white-collar hiring increased 14 per cent YoY during August, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index rising to 3,028 points from 2,664 points in the same month last year.

Hyderabad recorded the highest growth in AI/ML hiring at 48 per cent, followed by Mumbai at 36 per cent. Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune each registered a 31 per cent increase in AI/ML recruitment.

Hiring growth was seen across several sectors. The automotive industry recorded a 19 per cent rise, followed by healthcare at 16 per cent and retail at 15 per cent.

Insurance hiring increased 12 per cent, while the information technology sector grew 11 per cent. Banking and FMCG hiring rose 10 per cent each.

However, hiring in the pharma and biotech sectors remained unchanged. Hospitality and travel recruitment declined 4 per cent, while education hiring fell 8 per cent.

Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Info Edge (India) Limited, said hiring increased across both IT and non-IT sectors and across different experience levels in August.

'August saw hiring growth across both IT and non-IT sectors and across experience levels. At the same time, the growth needs to be viewed in the context of the festive calendar, with a larger part of the festive period falling in August last year and shifting to September this year,' Oberoi said.

'We will have a clearer view of the underlying hiring trend as we move through the festive quarter,' he added.

Within specialised technology roles, IT and information security hiring rose 32 per cent, while AI/ML hiring within the IT sector increased 22 per cent.

Demand for senior technology professionals also remained strong. AI/ML job postings for candidates with more than 16 years of experience more than doubled during the month.

Hiring for professionals with 13-16 years of experience increased 87 per cent, while recruitment in the 8-12 years of experience category rose 39 per cent.

GCC hiring also recorded steady growth across southern hubs. Hyderabad led with a 28 per cent increase, followed by Chennai at 21 per cent, Pune at 15 per cent and Bengaluru at 13 per cent.

Fresher hiring also remained strong, increasing 15 per cent YoY across major and emerging cities.

Among non-metro locations, Coimbatore recorded the highest growth in fresher hiring at 28 per cent, followed by Vadodara at 24 per cent and Jaipur at 16 per cent.

Among major metros, Chennai led fresher hiring with a 15 per cent increase, followed by Kolkata at 14 per cent. Bengaluru and Pune each recorded a 13 per cent rise, the report showed. (ANI)