India’s white-collar job market grew 5% year-on-year in July 2026, but AI and machine learning roles surged 33%, according to the Naukri JobSpeak report published by Info Edge on August 3, 2026. The report’s more striking finding for HR teams outside the metros: Jaipur and Coimbatore are emerging as genuine fresher-hiring hubs, with fresher recruitment up 27% and 19% respectively, well ahead of many established tech cities.
The JobSpeak index, Naukri’s monthly hiring-activity benchmark, hit 3,227 in July, up from 3,074 a year earlier. IT and software services hiring grew 6% year-on-year, a modest but real recovery after a rough start to 2026 for the sector.
Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO of Info Edge (India), summed up the mood without overselling it: The market is “steadily gaining momentum,” with IT hiring and AI talent demand signalling continued workforce expansion.
That’s a deliberately careful read, and it should be. A 5% overall growth number next to a 33% AI-ML surge tells you hiring is narrow, not broad. Companies aren’t hiring across the board; they’re hiring hard for a specific skill set while holding flat or cutting elsewhere. That’s consistent with what TCS, Infosys, and global GCCs have said all year publicly: headcount discipline everywhere except AI.
The Jaipur and Coimbatore numbers matter for a different reason. Both cities have spent the last few years building out IT parks, GCC satellite offices, and engineering college pipelines, and this is the clearest sign yet that the investment is converting into actual fresher hiring, not just real estate announcements. Naukri’s broader city data also flags Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru as growth leaders this cycle, suggesting the hiring map is genuinely widening beyond the usual Bengaluru-Pune-Hyderabad triangle.
