India's Job Market

FM Sitharaman launches dedicated mobile app for PM Internship Scheme

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday launched a dedicated mobile application for the Prime Minister Internship Scheme and urged more companies to join the programme. Also, the minister said she has appealed to MPs to encourage youth to join the scheme. The pilot project of the scheme targeted at providing 1.25 lakh internship opportunities to the youth during 2024-25 was launched on October 3, 2024. After launching the app in the national capital on Monday, Sitharaman, who is in charge of the Finance and Corporate Affairs ministries, said the scheme is aimed at getting youth from Tier II and III cities and help them to understand the skills that are required by the industry as well as the job availability. There is a shortage of people in terms of industry expectations and requirements and the scheme is aimed at bridging that gap, the minister said. Regarding the scheme, she emphasised that there is no compulsion on industry and no interference. The scheme is for a nationa

India's job market witnesses 41% growth in Feb on freshers hiring: Report

India's job market continued its upward momentum in February, witnessing 41 per cent year-on-year growth mainly driven by freshers hiring, a report said on Thursday. In February, fresher hiring rose by 26 per cent year-on-year (YoY) reflecting sustained employer demand for entry-level talent, according to data by foundit (formerly Monster APAC and ME), Asia's jobs and talent platform. There has been 41 per cent growth in hiring in February 2025 compared to a year ago, driven by the fresher job market which maintained steady growth, according to the report. Among sectors, IT - Hardware and Software continued to lead fresher hiring, nearly doubling its share from 17 per cent in 2024 to 34 per cent in 2025, the report said. "The shift towards skill-based hiring is undeniable. Employers are increasingly prioritising candidates with practical expertise and industry-relevant skills," foundit CEO V Suresh stated. The foundit Insights Tracker (fit) is a comprehensive monthly analysis of .

Skills over degrees: Indian employers embrace practical expertise in hiring

According to a report by hiring platform Indeed, employers are increasingly prioritising skills over degrees, reshaping the job market and opening doors for non-traditional talent

India faces growing job crisis: Just 42.6% of graduates are employable

India's job crisis deepens as only 42.6 per cent of graduates are employable, sparking concerns over the growing skill gap in an AI-driven workforce

PM Internship Scheme aims to provide exposure, not jobs: FM Sitharaman

As part of the Viksit Bharat initiative, announced in the July 2024 budget, the government launched a comprehensive internship scheme aimed at providing opportunities to 1 crore youth over five years

Q-commerce drives surge in demand for blue-collar jobs in India: Survey

The quick commerce industry hired about 40,000 workers last quarter to handle increased festive shopping and e-commerce demand

IT major HCLTech marginally hikes salaries of junior-level employees

HCLTech, which is also set to release its third-quarter earnings on January 13, is projected to lead growth among Tier-I IT firms

Emerging tech to drive India's job market with 20% growth in 2025: Report

Indian IT ecosystem is poised for a promising growth trajectory in the coming years with emerging technologies expected to witness a 20 per cent increase in new jobs in 2025, Human Resources (HR) platform FirstMeridian Business Services said on Tuesday. Looking back at 2024, it said the Indian IT and tech ecosystem witnessed a 17 per cent surge in new employment opportunities, driven by rapid digital transformation and the concurrent rising demand for emerging tech niche job profiles. "After a muted H1, the sector regained momentum, as we gear up for 2025, these trends will continue, while also eyeing an average 20 per cent rise in profiles like application developers, software engineers, DevOps engineers, AI, ML, and Cyber Security," FirstMeridian Business Services CEO, IT Staffing, Sunil Nehra said. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI), which was a major trend in 2024, is expected to further accelerate in 2025, Nehra added. The sector is set for remarkable expansion, with high

Is it fair to pay foreign workers less? Co-founder of this US firm says yes

Franco Pereyra, co-founder, COO of Near sparked an online debate by claiming that the less pay for third-world countries employees is justifiable. However, people denied and countered the narrative

Recovering IT sector leads job market to clock 6% growth in Sep: Report

White-collar hiring activity witnessed a 6 per cent growth in September compared to the same month last year, mainly driven by a recovering IT sector, a report said on Thursday. The Naukri JobSpeak Index reached 2,727 points in September, marking a 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth, it said. This positive trend was largely driven by a resurgent IT sector, which demonstrated 18 per cent YoY growth in hiring activity. Non-traditional IT hubs showed significant growth, potentially indicating a geographical diversification trend. Jaipur led the pack with a 47 per cent YoY increase in IT roles, followed by Kolkata at 32 per cent, the report said. The IT sector also saw a 35 per cent YoY growth in hiring for professionals with over 16 years of experience. Unicorns and foreign MNCs were key drivers of this growth, with 16 per cent and 14 per cent YoY increases, respectively, it added. Sectors such as FMCG (23 per cent) and oil and gas (13 per cent) also exhibited strong growth, said

AI will spur jobs but repetitive roles to be impacted: Deloitte top leader

Deloitte's Romal Shetty said that while AI could create more jobs but roles involving repetitive tasks are at risk. He also stressed that while regulations are crucial, it shouldn't stifle innovation

Hiring activity up 11% in July on job market's positive momentum: Report

The overall job market showed a positive momentum as hiring activity in July rose by 11 per cent compared to the same month of last year, a report said on Wednesday. According to the Foundit Insights Tracker (fit), hiring activity was down 1 per cent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis. Coimbatore has emerged as the leader in job growth among India's Tier-II cities, with a 24 per cent increase in hiring, followed by Jaipur with a 23 per cent rise. Other cities showing strong growth include Delhi-NCR (18 per cent), Chennai (14 per cent), and Pune (12 per cent), the report added. "The strong focus of the recent Union Budget on productivity and job creation is an encouraging sign for the recruitment industry. "We have also noticed that the salaries of employees have consistently risen driven by higher demand for fresh talent and competitive salary offerings. This growth is likely fueled by high-growth sectors such as technology, digital marketing, and e-commerce," Foundit (previously Mon

Eco Survey updates: FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented Economic Survey 2023-24 in Lok Sabha

Economic Survey 2024 LIVE news: The Economic Survey stated that short-term inflation outlook benign, but India faces persistent deficit in pulses

India needs to add 7.85 million jobs every year till 2030: Economic Survey

Manufacturing sector witnessed subdued employment growth in the past decade due to issues like bad loans, says Economic Survey 2023-24

Nearly 80% of gig workers meet Indian job market requirements: Report

Around 76% of employers identified technical skills as the most essential for gig workers

Job market blues for B-schools; institutes reach out to more recruiters

Institutes adapt curriculum to align with demand

14% Indians feel they are thriving in workplace, 32% feel stressed: Report

A report by Gallup 2024 State of the Global Workplace revealed that 35 per cent of Indian respondents were experiencing daily anger, the highest in South Asia

E-commerce, BFSI, hospitality sectors driving job market in 2024: Report

E-commerce, BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance), and hospitality sectors witnessed an increased demands for talents in the first four months of 2024, indicating a recovery in overall job market, a report said on Thursday. Driven by economic recovery, the demand for workforce in BFSI increased the maximum by 21 per cent during the first four months of this calender year. The e-commerce sector saw an increase of 17 per cent, services and hospitality industries reported a growth of 13 per cent, according to a report by professional networking platform Apna. The report is based on the data on Apna platform during 2023 and 2024. It also found that the job market in the southern part of India saw a growth of 23 per cent compared to 18 per cent last year, with cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai leading in terms of total number of job postings. The adoption of digitalisation is becoming increasingly evident in tier II and III cities like Lucknow, Coimbatore, and ...

Best of BS Opinion: Trade fragmentation, efficient job market & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Today's youth don't run after govt jobs, but are job creators, says Goyal

Today's youth don't run after government jobs but have become job creators, Union minister Piyush Goyal has said. He was addressing a meeting Saturday night of the residents of Adarsh Welfare Association in Malad suburb of North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency, from where he is contesting as a BJP candidate. BJP's incumbent North Mumbai Lok Sabha member Gopal Shetty also addressed the meeting and requested the housing complex members to vote for Goyal. Today's young men and women don't run after government jobs (but) with their talents become job creators. Today's youth are taking the country forward with new experiments and innovation, Goyal said. In the last 10 years, PM Narendra Modi took strong steps to strengthen India's economy. He attempted to bring in good governance in all areas. He brought in many schemes for the welfare of the poor, the Commerce and Industry minister said. PM Modi worked to bring India from the five fragile economies to the top five economies, the ministe