Amid growing fears over AI-driven job losses, new data from Naukri offers a more nuanced picture.
The first quarter of FY2026 saw a 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in AI roles with over 35,000 AI/ML jobs posted on Naukri between April and June this year, according to a new report published by the popular Indian employment website on Wednesday, July 16. Non-AI tech jobs only grew by eight per cent, the report said.
While a majority (53 per cent) of the AI job postings were in the IT sector, openings for AI roles in the banking sector grew by 48 per cent while IT-enabled services and BPO sectors saw a 39 per cent increase from the year ago period. Other sectors such as accounting reported a 49 per cent growth in AI hiring, as per the report.
The findings in the report titled ‘AI: Friend, Foe or Frenemy’ is based on insights from 60,000+ jobseekers, thousands of job listings, and recruiter surveys, according to Naukri. It comes at a time when there is a growing sentiment in various parts of the world that AI will impact industries such as technology, finance, law, and media, with white-collar jobs being affected the most.
The tech industry itself is divided over the impact of AI on jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that about 50 per cent of white-collar, entry-level jobs will disappear by 2030. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, on the other hand, has argued that while these jobs will undoubtedly evolve in the AI era, they will not vanish entirely.
Naukri’s latest data on AI hiring in India appears to support Huang’s view. “Agree with lots of what Jensen has been saying about ai and jobs; there is a ton of stuff to do in the world,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X on July 16.
“AI-linked roles are growing faster, salaries are higher, and demand is rising across industries — not just in IT. 86% of jobseekers see AI as a friend, not a threat. Freshers remain anxious, but AI job growth for entry-level roles is up +34%, while senior professionals are seeing the biggest salary premiums. The gap is clear: those with AI skills are moving ahead faster than those in traditional tech roles,” Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri, said in a statement.
Other findings in the Naukri report
It’s not just about more job openings, roles that require AI skills are also offering higher salaries. The overall median salaries for AI-skilled roles are 53 per cent higher than their non-AI skilled counterparts, as per the report.
Demand for roles such as machine learning engineer, search engineer, and data scientist is rising fast while hiring for front-end developers, system admins, and app developers is down.
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Global headlines over the past few months have also suggested that AI could disproportionately affect young workers by automating traditional entry-level tasks in domains like IT and finance.
However, Naukri found that freshers who upskill in AI can earn 56 per cent more than their peers. “Senior professionals in the 13-16 yrs experience band can witness a 32 per cent salary premium if they come with AI skills,” the report said.
Perception of AI
The Naukri report also delves into how secure Indian professionals are feeling in the AI era. It found that over 86 per cent of Indian jobseekers view AI as a friend, rather than a threat.
This is in stark contrast to the United States, where 75 per cent of professionals believe AI could reduce job opportunities in the next decade, according to a Gallup survey. About 44 per cent of BPO professionals surveyed by Naukri fear job loss due to AI.
Concerns of AI-driven declines in workplace creativity were raised in the report. Over 40 per cent of high earners (Rs 15 LPA and above) worry that AI may reduce creativity in their work, it said.
“This anxiety is most pronounced in creative fields, with 54 per cent of Animation and VFX professionals, 43 per cent in Film and Music, and 41 per cent in Advertising and Marketing expressing concern,” it added.