Professional office-based hiring edged up 2 per cent against the same period last year in September, with demand for artificial intelligence and machine learning talent posting its strongest gains on record and the automotive industry adding further momentum, according to a Friday report.

Data from Naukri.com — the flagship brand under Info Edge — showed the Naukri JobSpeak Index at 3,053 for September, up from 3,002 in the corresponding month a year earlier, pointing to a two per cent annual uptick in professional-sector recruitment activity.

Published each month, the Naukri JobSpeak Index draws on fresh vacancy listings — free postings included — alongside recruiter search activity on Naukri.com to map the direction of hiring and employment demand across India.

Hiring data from the report pointed to an uptick in demand for AI and machine learning talent, with those positions expanding by 20 per cent in September, while openings across the automotive industry climbed 11 per cent over the same period. Both BPO/ITES and GCC sectors posted recruitment increases of 4 per cent apiece over the period, the document noted.

Recruitment activity held steady across Insurance, Retail, Banking and Financial Services, and Real Estate, whereas a four per cent contraction in demand was recorded for both IT/Software Services and Pharma/Biotech, FMCG posted an equivalent drop, and Healthcare saw workforce appetite ease by three per cent. Among the sectors covered, Hospitality and Travel posted a drop of 11 per cent while Education fell by 18 per cent, according to the same report.

Entry-level and early-to-mid career recruitment held broadly steady, with graduate-intake volumes edging up one percentage point against the prior year while demand for candidates carrying four to seven years of experience dipped by two points over the same period. Hiring appetite for seasoned professionals held up across all tenure bands, with those carrying eight to 12 years of experience seeing a five per cent uptick, those in the 13-to-16-year bracket posting a seven per cent rise, and workers beyond the 16-year mark recording a further five per cent gain.

Of the metro markets tracked, Hyderabad posted the strongest annual expansion at 9 per cent, while Chennai came in at 6 per cent and both Bengaluru and Kolkata registered gains of 4 per cent apiece. Pune held steady through September while Delhi-NCR and Mumbai each posted a 6 per cent drop in hiring activity, and recruitment across smaller cities showed little movement.

Hiring volumes held largely steady overall, yet employer appetite continued to tilt toward workers with niche expertise — artificial intelligence capabilities in particular — as well as those with deeper professional track records.

Hitesh Oberoi, who leads Info Edge (India) Limited as managing director and chief executive, noted that the divergence in recruitment patterns across industries and urban centres points to workforce demand being shaped increasingly by targeted business requirements and particular capability gaps.