India's white-collar job market demonstrated robust growth in February 2026, with hiring increasing 12% year-on-year according to the latest Naukri JobSpeak Index report. The index rose to 3,233 points in February 2026 from 2,890 points in February 2025, marking the strongest February performance in recent years. On a month-on-month basis, hiring activity accelerated 23% between January and February, significantly higher than the typical 13-16% rise seen during this period, as reported by PTI.
The IT sector emerged as a key driver of the hiring surge, recording over 6% annual growth in hiring during February. Freshers' recruitment within IT rose 8%, while India-based multinational IT companies led the surge with a 55% jump in hiring. Within the IT segment, AI and machine learning roles sustained strong momentum, with AI/ML hiring rising 40% year-on-year and 49% year-on-year respectively. Indian MNCs increased AI/ML hiring by 82% compared with 43% growth by foreign MNCs, indicating domestic enterprises are accelerating investments in new technologies, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index report.
Non-IT sectors provided strong support to overall hiring momentum, with insurance leading growth at 28%, followed by BPO/ITES at 22%, real estate at 19%, hospitality and travel at 15%, and retail at 14%. Freshers' hiring across all sectors grew 17% annually, while demand for roles in the ₹20 lakh-per-annum salary bracket increased 23%, reflecting strength at both entry-level and premium talent segments. Indian multinational companies expanded hiring by 24% in February 2026, as reported by PTI.
Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer at Naukri, noted that IT hiring is recovering meaningfully and Indian MNCs are investing in AI talent at a healthy pace. The underlying momentum heading into the new fiscal year looks genuinely solid, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index tracking trends in India's job market based on new job postings and recruiter searches on Naukri.com's resume database.