Job mkt 2025: 9 cr applications, 14 lakh jobs, women leadership bids up 35%

Over 9 crore job applications, 14 lakh jobs posted, and 35% increase in women applications in leadership & managerial roles: reveals Apna.co's "India at Work 2025" report

 As India became the world’s fourth-largest economy in 2025, the job market mirrored that momentum: over 9 crore job applications were submitted on job portal Apna (up 29% YoY), 14 lakh jobs were posted (up 15% YoY) and AI-led recruitment scaled to unprecedented levels.

 

Job applications on Apna rose an estimated 29% year-on-year, driven by higher participation from women and early-career professionals as service-led hiring expanded across Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

 

Employers posted 14 lakh jobs during the year, marking a 15% year-on-year increase, with growth led by SMB digitisation and deeper enterprise expansion into non-metro markets.

 

Women contributed over 3.8 crore applications, registering a 36% year-on-year increase, while fresher application volumes crossed 2.2 crore, growing 10% YoY, reflecting sustained demand for formal, entry-level service roles.

 

Over 73 lakh AI interview sessions with over 1.9 crore AI interview minutes recorded. Nearly 4 years of recruiter calling time saved as a result of AI adoption in hiring workflows. Applications for managerial and senior positions crossed 1.1 crore, up 35% year-on-year, indicating a gradual strengthening of leadership pipelines. BFSI, healthcare services, education, retail and e-commerce together accounted for over 40% of women’s applications.

 

Women and Freshers Power India’s New Labour Curve

 

Women were the strongest growth engine of 2025. They submitted 3.8+ crore applications, a remarkable 36% YoY spike, with Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions contributing nearly 1.8 crore of these. What’s notable is the quality of participation—applications for managerial and senior roles rose 35%, hitting 1.1 crore. Median salaries for women increased an estimated 22%, as more entered finance, customer experience, healthcare support and administrative services.

 

Freshers, too, accelerated entry-level momentum. They filed 2.2+ crore job applications—a 10% YoY rise—with 1.3 crore coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities alone. Administrative services, digital ops, finance & accounting and customer success roles saw the highest traction, reflecting India’s shift toward a service-dominated hiring economy.

 

Employer Demand Grows in Non-Metros, Led by SMBs and Enterprises

 

Employers created 14 lakh job postings in 2025, of which:

 

10 lakh came from SMBs (up 11% YoY)

 

4 lakh from enterprises (up 14% YoY)

 

SMB hiring surged across Lucknow, Jaipur, Indore, Surat, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh as smaller businesses digitised, formalised and expanded. Enterprises decentralised operations faster than expected, driving Tier-2 and Tier-3 growth across BFSI, logistics, healthcare services, manufacturing and tech-enabled operations.

 

Top enterprise recruiters included Wipro Enterprises, HDFC ERGO, ITC, Tata 1mg, Policybazaar, Ola Electric, Quess Corp and Swiggy.

 

AI adoption reached mainstream scale:

• 73 lakh AI interview sessions
• 1.9 crore minutes of AI-led prep and interviews
• 6,000+ employers used Apna’s AI Calling Agent
• 11,200 AI-powered job listings
• 12 lakh automated screenings → saving nearly 4 years of recruiter calling time

 

Freshers, women re-entering the workforce, and Tier-2/Tier-3 candidates were the biggest adopters of Apna’s AI Job Prep tool. Job seekers most frequently prepared for roles in software development, product management, data analysis, accounting, digital marketing and sales.

 

Major aspirational employers included Google, Tesla, Swiggy, Microsoft, Jio and Flipkart, indicating strong tech- and service-led ambitions among India’s workforce

 

Women, Youth and Small-Town India Are Rewriting the Hiring Map

 

The report outlines a decentralising job economy:

 

Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are contributing 30–35% YoY growth across key categories.

 

Women are not only increasing in volume but shifting decisively toward formal and leadership roles.

 

Young Indians—1 crore joining the workforce each year—are aligning education more closely with service-led jobs, with 19 lakh qualified freshers applying.

 

A More Skilled, AI-Enabled, Multi-City Workforce

 

Apna’s data confirms a structural evolution in India’s labour landscape:

 

Hiring is more distributed across the country.

 

Candidates are more tech-enabled.

 

Employers are adopting automation at scale.

 

Women and first-time job seekers are driving the next phase of workforce formalisation.

 

“The 2025 data reflects a workforce that is more distributed, more aspirational and more digitally empowered,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO – Jobs Marketplace, Apna.co. 

“AI is improving hiring efficiency, while women and early-career professionals are strengthening participation across service-led roles. India’s job market is widening and maturing simultaneously.”