After eight-month dip, India’s job market rises 8.9%: Indeed

India’s job market posted a sharp rebound in May 2025, with job listings rising by 8.9% following eight consecutive months of decline, according to data released by global employment platform Indeed. Although the total volume of postings remains 1.8% below the same period last year and 16% below peak levels, they are still nearly 80% higher than pre-pandemic figures, reflecting the enduring strength of India’s labour demand.

Callam Pickering, APAC Senior Economist at Indeed, attributed the rebound to structural reforms in India’s economy. “Indian job creation continues to outpace other countries because of the nation’s transition towards more formal economic arrangements,” Pickering said in a statement. “As the nation transitions, job creation across the formal sector will be much stronger than overall employment growth nationwide, and we have consistently seen that in recent years. Other economies are not going through a transition of this nature.”

Compared with countries like the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Switzerland, India’s job posting volumes are significantly higher, according to the same Indeed data.

Which Sectors Are Driving the Recovery?

Indeed’s analysis shows that job postings increased across nearly 80% of occupations over the past three months. The biggest jumps were seen in:

• Childcare (+27%)
  
  

• Personal care and home health (+25%)
  
  

• Education (+24%)
  
  

• Production and manufacturing (+22%)
  
  

These surges helped offset declines in certain segments, including:

• Dental roles (-10.2%)
  
  

• Agriculture and forestry (-8.6%)
  
  

• Community and social service (-6.8%)
  
  

• Software development (-4.2%)
  
  

Despite the recent dip, software development remains India’s single largest job category on Indeed, representing about one in five job listings.

Indeed’s report also highlights the growing presence of Generative AI (GenAI) in job postings. As of May 2025, 1.5% of all listings in India explicitly referenced GenAI, a figure that has more than doubled in the past year.

These mentions are most concentrated in the tech and adjacent sectors:

• Data analytics (12.5%)
  
  

• Software development (3.6%)
  
  

• Scientific research (3.1%)
  
  

AI-linked job requirements are also expanding beyond tech. Notable GenAI mentions include:

• Marketing roles (1.1%)
  
  

• Management positions (0.9%)
  
  

At a regional level, Karnataka leads the AI adoption wave with 2.4% of job postings referencing GenAI, followed by Telangana at 2.3%. While Maharashtra hosts the highest overall job volume, GenAI is cited in only 1% of its listings.

The data signals a broader transformation in India’s employment landscape. As formal sector hiring gains ground and new tech reshapes job roles, the future of hiring in India will likely hinge on how quickly workers adapt to the evolving demands.

Pickering noted, “India’s job creation story is now closely linked to both structural economic reforms and digital transformation. The opportunity lies in scaling talent development to match the pace of change.”