India, 3 March 2026: India’s white-collar job market posted its strongest February efficiency in recent times, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index reaching 3,233 factors – up 12% year-on-year from 2,890 factors in February 2025.
February sometimes sees a seasonal uptick over January, and this 12 months was no exception – however the scale of that swing stood out. The month-on-month acceleration from January to February got here in at 23%, noticeably sharper than the 13–16% vary sometimes seen between the 2 months.
Brisker hiring (0–3 years) grew +17% YOY, and demand for roles within the 20+ LPA band rose +23%, reflecting energy throughout each entry-level and high-value expertise segments.
Non-IT sectors continued to anchor the hiring momentum, with Insurance coverage main at 28% YOY, adopted by BPO/ITES (+22%), Actual Property (+19%), Hospitality/Journey (+15%) and Retail (+14%). The IT sector entered the optimistic territory with a +6% YOY enhance, transferring away from the steady pattern noticed over the previous quarters. AI/ML roles sustained their robust trajectory, rising +49% YOY.
IT Sector’s Development Pushed by Excessive-Worth Roles & Indian MNCs
The IT sector posted a +6% YOY development in February 2026. Curiously, hiring for wage bands under 20+ LPA remained flat, whereas demand climbed sharply up the pay scale. Hiring within the 20+ LPA band grew +19% YOY, with the 50+ LPA band surging 45% YOY.
Brisker hiring within the sector additionally grew by a wholesome +8%. Indian IT MNCs have been the first driver, recording a +55% hiring surge. Throughout the sector, AI/ML hiring rose +40%, reinforcing that IT’s February efficiency was concentrated in its highest-skill, highest-value expertise segments.
Non-IT Sectors and Non-Metro Cities Energy the Surge in Brisker Hiring
General, more energizing hiring grew +17% YOY, with non-IT sectors main the way in which: BPO/ITES (+48%), Insurance coverage (+42%), Retail (+39%), and Hospitality (+39%) have been the highest contributors.
Non-metro cities added to the momentum, with Jaipur (+25%), Coimbatore (+20%), and Vadodara/Baroda (+20%) among the many standout performers. Notably, the 20+ LPA more energizing band grew the best at +30%.
Insurance coverage Posts Strongest Sectoral Development, Powered by Each International and Indian MNCs
Insurance coverage has steadily climbed the hiring rankings by way of the final 6 months. With +28% YOY development in February – the sector has emerged as one of the vital sturdy development tales within the present job market.
What makes the Insurance coverage story distinctive is the convergence of demand from a number of instructions without delay. International MNCs recorded a +62% enhance in Insurance coverage hiring, whereas Indian MNCs delivered a fair sharper +71% development.
Senior expertise was notably wanted: professionals within the 13–16 12 months expertise band noticed +50% development, and roles on the 20+ LPA degree surged +55%. Geographically, Pune (+24%), Mumbai (+20%), and Bengaluru (+19%) led hiring throughout the sector.
Indian MNCs Lead AI Hiring Momentum
In February 2026, Indian MNCs expanded hiring by +24% YOY. Nonetheless, the hole turns into most placing in AI/ML hiring.
Indian MNCs grew their AI/ML hiring by +82% YOY, in comparison with +43% for International MNCs, almost double the tempo, highlighting the place home enterprises are putting their greatest bets.
Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Enterprise Officer, Naukri stated“The 23% month-on-month swing from January to February is sharper than historic patterns, and the composition backs it up – IT hiring is recovering meaningfully, and Indian MNCs are investing in AI expertise at a wholesome tempo. The underlying momentum heading into the brand new fiscal 12 months appears genuinely stable.”
Methodology
The Naukri JobSpeak is a month-to-month index that tracks developments in India’s job market and hiring exercise, primarily based on new job postings (together with free job listings*) and recruiter searches on Naukri.com’s resume database. Utilizing July 2008 as the bottom month (Index = 1,000), the index analyses hiring patterns throughout industries, cities, and expertise ranges. It aggregates information from over 150,000 shoppers, overlaying 80 lakh+ new job mandates yearly.
*Following the inclusion of free listings, hiring exercise is witnessing a transient uplift attributable to greater participation from small and medium companies, which is predicted to normalise as soon as the bottom adjusts over the following few months. The index excludes gig employment, hyperlocal hiring, and campus placements.
About Jobs
Naukri, pioneering e-recruitment in India since 1997, is the nation’s main job web site and Information Edge’s flagship model. As the primary web firm to be listed in India, Information Edge by way of Naukri has maintained the best market share and model consciousness amongst each job seekers and recruiters for over twenty years. The platform has constantly outperformed opponents, making it synonymous with on-line job search in India.