Kolkata: Is 2025 going to ring in good tidings in India’s job market? If the January-March quarter numbers are to be believed, that seems to be the message. What’s more, women seemed to be at the forefront of the renewed vigour in the job market. The platform received 1.81 crore job applications in January-March time window, which marks a 30% rise when compared to the number in the same period last year.
Jobs and professional networking platform Apna has stated in a report titled ‘India at Work – Q1 2025 report’ that women has been at the forefront of the upswing this year, when the numbers indicated a good 23% rise in applications from the fairer sex. The trend has been attributed to flexible work options and more and more employers opening their doors to women. If you scan the sectors, education, human resources, finance and BPO score high in absorbing women.
Cities scoring high
According to the report, there has been a surge in women applying from some cities that are not in the tier 1 list. These are Chandigarh, Indore, and Jamshedpur. These cities far exceeded the growth rate in women applying from the metro cities. The report stated that women fired more than 62 lakh job applications in Q1 of 2025 (calendar year), which marked a 23% jump compared to the same period in 2024.
Freshers leave a mark
Apart form women, freshers were also in focus. The number of applications from the first timers registered a rise of 46% rise (year-on-year). The number of application from freshers stood at more than 66 lakh compared to the similar time in 2024.Applications from freshers from Warangal, Jabalpur and Prayagraj grew by 20–50%. The report also revealed that over 70% of freshers were armed with formal degrees/professional certifications.
New tech hubs?
Scanning the hiring landscape, the Anpa report stated that Rajkot, Indore and Lucknow were showing signs of nascent tech hubs. It also reflected a trend for remote work and the rising digital infrastructure. The hiring numbers revealed that over 3.1 lakh jobs were posted in the January-March period which showed a 26% rise (year-on-year). The bulk of the recruitments were accounted for by small and medium businesses which generated 2.1 lakh hiring. In this sector too, women with 28,547 roles, registered a 51% rise compared to 2024. LIC, Flipkart, and Paytm generated over 1 lakh jobs.
Tier 2 and tier 3 cities have stood out prominently in the hiring landscape in India in the first quarter of the current calendar year. What’s more significant is that women have cornered a significant share. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
