India’s employment landscape is showing strong momentum, with an impressive 42% year-on-year (YoY) increase in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) roles in June 2025, according to the latest Monthly Economic Review by the Department of Economic Affairs.
The report also underlines India’s growing prominence in global services, with hiring in Global Capability Centres (GCCs) recording a steady 9% YoY rise, highlighting the expanding footprint of India's tech and service sectors.
Adding to this, fresher hiring surged by 11% YoY in June 2025, pointing to improved entry-level job prospects across industries. The white-collar job segment also witnessed a rebound, registering double-digit growth and reinforcing the overall stability of the labour market.
Formal employment continues on a strong upward path. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) reported a record 20.06 lakh net new members in May 2025, which is the highest monthly addition since payroll tracking began in April 2018.
According to a report by Republic, this trend is echoed in the June 2025 edition of the Naukri JobSpeak report, which was cited by the department. The hiring index rose to 2,854, reflecting a 10.5% YoY increase in hiring across various sectors, cities, and experience levels.
Sector-wise, the insurance industry led with a 32% rise in hiring, followed by hospitality and travel (21%), BPO and ITES (19%), real estate (16%), oil and gas/power (15%), healthcare (11%), and education and FMCG (10%).
Both the manufacturing and services sectors continue to drive job creation. The employment sub-index of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained in expansion for the sixteenth consecutive month. While manufacturing saw stronger employment growth, the services sector reported a slight dip from the highs seen in May 2025.
EPFO data for May 2025 also showed that 59.5% of new subscribers were aged between 18-25, followed by 22.8% in the 26-35 age group, and 16.6% aged above 35, indicating a substantial influx of young, first-time job seekers into the formal workforce.
The report concludes that the steady rise in formal employment and workforce participation is a testament to the government’s ongoing efforts to generate more job opportunities for India’s youth.
