SynopsisIndia's job market showed stability in May. Insurance sector hiring grew significantly. Demand for AI talent remained strong, especially for experienced professionals. Emerging cities like Surat and Coimbatore saw hiring increases. While some sectors declined, others like BPO/ITeS and healthcare expanded. Fresher hiring also saw a positive trend, particularly in customer-facing roles.AgenciesAI talent demand offset flat white-collar hiring in MayIndia’s white-collar hiring market remained largely flat in May, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index moving up to 2,836 from 2,807 a year earlier, as demand for AI talent, insurance professionals and fresh graduates helped offset weakness across several sectors.The Insurance sector emerged as the strongest performer, recording 19% year-on-year growth in hiring, followed by BPO/ITeS (9%), healthcare (6%) and hospitality (5%), according to data released by recruitment platform Naukri on Tuesday.Also read: India tech jobs decline: AI, US immigration impact recruitment“While the job market remained stable in May, demand for high-value talent continued to stand out across industries, with AI/ML roles leading the charge,” said Hitesh Oberoi, managing director and chief executive officer of Info Edge (India), which owns Naukri.Among major metropolitan markets, Hyderabad continued to outperform with 6% hiring growth, while emerging cities posted even stronger gains. Surat recorded a 9% increase and Coimbatore grew 8%, reflecting a gradual broadening of hiring activity beyond traditional employment hubs.Global Capability Centres (GCCs) remained a key source of demand, with hiring rising 8% across top metros. Chennai led GCC recruitment growth at 25%, followed by Hyderabad at 20% and Pune at 16%. Delhi-NCR grew 8%, while Bengaluru and Mumbai each registered 5% growth.Also read: At Big 4 firms, AI is starting to reshape the tax professionThe report showed a mixed sectoral picture. While insurance, healthcare, hospitality and BPO/ITeS expanded hiring, several large industries saw declines. Banking hiring fell 15% year-on-year, followed by telecom (-12%), pharma (-8%), IT (-7%), auto (-7%), education (-6%) and oil & gas (-6%). FMCG, retail and real estate remained broadly flat, although FMCG hiring rose 14% in Hyderabad and 17% in Chennai.AI and machine learning continued to be among the strongest growth areas in the labour market, with hiring increasing 22% year-on-year. Demand was particularly robust for senior professionals, with recruitment of candidates having 13-16 years of experience rising 32% and those with more than 16 years of experience increasing 28%.Hiring for AI/ML positions offering salaries above ₹30 lakh per annum grew 27% during the month, underscoring the premium employers continue to place on specialised technology skills.Among cities, Hyderabad led AI hiring growth with a 44% surge, followed by Delhi-NCR at 34% and Chennai at 31%.“We are also seeing encouraging fresher hiring momentum in emerging cities like Jaipur and Coimbatore,” Oberoi said. Fresher hiring rose 7% year-on-year, driven largely by customer-facing roles.Recruitment for relationship managers jumped 75%, followed by loan officers (62%), retail sales professionals (50%), customer engagement roles (43%) and customer success associates (35%). Hospitality and retail each recorded 30% growth in fresher hiring, while BPO/ITeS posted a 28% increase, highlighting sustained demand for entry-level talent in consumer-facing sectors.Read More News onRead More News on