India’s white-collar job market saw a 5% increase in roles in July, driven more by non-IT industries and a 33% surge in AI and machine learning positions, signalling a shift towards specialised, domestic-focused hiring.
India’s white-collar hiring improved in July, with recruiters adding 5% more roles than a year earlier, according to data released by HRKatha. The gains were driven less by traditional technology openings than by demand across non-IT industries, while artificial intelligence and machine learning jobs continued to outpace the broader market.
The clearest momentum came from sectors such as hospitality, insurance, education and oil and gas, which all recorded double-digit growth. Hiring for AI and machine learning positions rose 33% year on year, even as overall technology recruitment was flat. The strongest appetite was for specialised, higher-value talent, including data science, information security and engineering roles, with Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Chennai leading growth in AI-related hiring.
The report also points to a healthier spread across experience levels and locations. Fresher hiring rose about 8%, while demand increased for candidates with 13 to 16 years’ experience, suggesting that employers are still investing in both early-career staff and senior domain expertise. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai all posted steady gains, while tier-two cities such as Jaipur, Coimbatore and Indore also showed solid traction, particularly in customer-facing and entry-level jobs.
That pattern fits with other recent labour-market snapshots. The Economic Times reported that non-tech industries made up 62% of openings in July 2023, while more recent coverage in the same newspaper said white-collar hiring in July 2025 rose 7% year on year, with non-IT sectors again leading the way and AI and machine learning recruitment climbing 41%. Business Standard has also reported sustained strength in oil and gas, real estate, AI, hospitality and automotive hiring, underscoring how domestic-focused and specialist roles have increasingly supported the white-collar market. HRKatha’s July data suggests that the broader market is stabilising, but the real acceleration is still coming from AI-led roles and from industries beyond the traditional IT core.
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