White-collar hiring up 14% in October, led by factory and auto jobs
12 November 2026 · 2 min read · HireHo
Based on Naukri JobSpeak, October 2026, reported on 3 November 2026. Summarised in our own words.
India's white-collar hiring rose 14% in October 2026 compared with October 2025, according to the Naukri JobSpeak index. The index stood at 2,836, up from 2,480 a year earlier.
Part of the jump comes from a weak base. Diwali fell in October last year and slowed hiring then. Hitesh Oberoi, MD and CEO of Info Edge (India), said some of October's growth reflects last year's festive-season base and should be read in that light.
What grew the most
- Production and manufacturing functions: up 39%
- Auto sector: up 36%. Auto R&D rose 53%, procurement and supply chain 50%, and production 41%.
- BPO and ITES: up 17%. Finance and accounting roles rose 84% and sales roles 43%.
- Banking and financial services: up 16%
- Heavy machinery production: up 40%
- Construction, engineering, cement and metals production: up 33%
- FMCG production: up 40%
Technology and experience levels
- AI and machine learning roles: up 32%
- Global capability centres (GCCs): up 18%
- Software engineering and QA across all sectors: up only 1%
- Freshers: up 15%. Senior bands (13 to 16 years, and over 16 years): up 22% each.
Which cities
Hyderabad led the metros with 15% growth. Among smaller cities, Gandhinagar rose 48%, Surat 36%, Vadodara 30% and Ahmedabad 23%.
What fell
The report names one decline: FMCG sales and business development, down 5%.
What this means for you
- If you work on a factory floor, in production, quality or procurement, demand is strong right now.
- Smaller industrial cities in Gujarat are hiring faster than the big metros.
- Software hiring overall is nearly flat, so general coding roles are harder to find than AI-linked ones.
- Treat the 14% as a festive-base effect and wait for the November report before calling it a trend.
The index tracks jobs posted on one portal, so it shows direction, not every job in India.