AI/ML hiring up 20%, IT services down 4%

India's white-collar hiring grew only 2% year-on-year in September, with the Naukri JobSpeak Index at 3,053 versus 3,002 a year earlier. The headline number hides a sharp split: AI/ML roles rose 20%, auto 11%, and BPO/ITES and GCC hiring 4% each, while IT/Software Services, pharma, FMCG and healthcare all declined. Geographically, Hyderabad led with 9% growth, Chennai 6%, Bengaluru and Kolkata 4% each, while Delhi-NCR and Mumbai fell 6% each and Pune stayed flat. Emerging cities were largely flat. The signal is clear: the market is not expanding broadly, it is reallocating toward AI-adjacent and GCC demand while traditional IT services hiring contracts. Key signal: Naukri JobSpeak rose just 2% YoY to 3,053 in September, but AI/ML roles jumped 20% while IT/Software Services hiring fell 4%. For hiring leaders, this is a barbell market, not a recovery. If your demand is AI/ML, data or GCC capability, you are competing in a 20%-growth segment with thin senior supply and rising salary expectations. If your demand is traditional IT services delivery, you are in a shrinking pool where the leverage sits with buyers, not candidates. The metro divergence matters too: Hyderabad and Chennai are absorbing the AI and GCC build-out, while NCR and Mumbai soften. TA leaders should rebalance sourcing toward Hyderabad and Chennai, and stop benchmarking AI/ML compensation against generic IT bands. Teksands view: The 2% headline is the least useful number in this report. The real story is the split: AI/ML up 20%, IT services down 4%, GCC up 4%. That is not a soft market, it is a reallocating one. If you are hiring AI/ML talent in Hyderabad or Chennai, expect competition and premium pricing. If you are hiring traditional delivery talent in NCR or Mumbai, you have more leverage than you did a year ago. Stop using one hiring plan and one salary band for both.