2025 Hiring Ends On A High — Here Are The Non-IT Sectors Driving The Rebound

India’s white-collar job market ended 2025 on a firm footing. Hiring activity rising 13% year-on-year in December, making October-December the strongest quarter of the year with 9% growth, according to JobSpeak data released by Naukri.com.

The momentum was driven largely by non-IT sectors, signalling a broader recovery beyond technology after a year of uneven hiring.

Entry-level hiring also strengthened. Freshers with 0-3 years of experience saw an 18% rise in hiring, led by non-IT sectors such as insurance and hospitality.

Insurance emerged as the top-performing sector, posting 34% growth in December. A sharp 57% jump in fresh hiring powered the surge, reflecting insurers’ push to expand sales, distribution and operational teams as demand improved across city tiers.

Hospitality and travel followed closely, recording 29% growth. Hiring was led by Mumbai and Delhi NCR, as hotels, restaurants and travel companies continued to rebuild capacity amid sustained leisure and business travel demand.

BPO/ITES grew 24%, real estate rose 21% and oil & gas also saw strong gains of 18%, highlighting sector-specific hiring cycles coming back into play.

Not all sectors shared the growing momentum. Banking and financial services witnessed a 7% year-on-year decline in hiring, reflecting a more cautious stance amid margin pressures and selective credit growth. Telecom hiring also contracted by 8%.

Startups, however, remained relatively resilient. Hiring in the ecosystem stayed steady, supported by focused recruitment in revenue-linked and execution roles rather than broad-based expansion.

Hiring of seasoned professionals — those with more than 16 years of experience — rose 15% in December. This growth was driven mainly by real estate and oil & gas, where project execution, regulatory expertise and leadership roles are in demand as capital expenditure activity gathers pace.

Geographically, non-metro cities gained prominence. Kochi and Jaipur emerged as fresher hiring hotspots, underlining a growing shift towards distributed workforces and talent pools beyond the largest metros.

Commenting on the trend, Dr Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer at Naukri, said the sustained strength in non-tech hiring through the year has broadened entry-level opportunities and firmly entrenched the shift going into 2026.