The Indian white-collar job landscape has undergone notable changes across sectors recently. While industries like IT, BPO, and retail have seen a decline in recruitment, the Oil and Gas sector has experienced a surge in hiring, especially for positions such as MEP and Electrical engineers. Moreover, there’s been a noticeable uptick in demand for AI expertise and seasoned professionals, accompanied by a significant increase in job opportunities offering salaries exceeding ₹20 lakh per annum. The emergence of unicorn startups has also played a role in driving employment growth, indicating positive trends within specific segments of the job market.
The oil and gas sector displayed robust hiring trends, with the highest demand for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers and electrical engineers, growing 22% year-on-year. Hiring was particularly high in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Although metros witnessed a hiring dip overall, certain sectors like oil and gas showed positive hiring trends. Jodhpur led the hiring trend with 13% year-on-year growth in new job creation in March, followed by Rajkot, Raipur and Guwahati with 12%, 7% and 6% growth in new job creation respectively. The category of senior professionals, with more than 16 years of experience, saw the highest hiring activity, with an 11% year-on-year increase in hiring in March. Conversely, entry-level professionals witnessed an 11% dip in new job opportunities during the month.
Pawan Goyal, chief business officer of Naukri.com, said, “With the baseline correction behind us and a few bright spots visible in March, positive trends in coming quarters seem quite plausible. Demand for seasoned professionals & Indian AI/ML talent should give everyone lots to cheer for.”
