India’s job market has entered 2025 with robust momentum, driven by the combined forces of freshers, women, and small and medium businesses (SMBs), according to Apna’s latest “India at Work – Q1 2025” report. The report captures key hiring trends between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, reflecting the steady rise of India’s workforce as the country moves closer to its USD 5 trillion economic goal.
Apna, India’s leading jobs and professional networking platform, recorded 1.81 crore job applications in Q1 2025 — a remarkable 30 per cent increase over the previous year. The platform also reported over 3.1 lakh new job postings, with hiring surges particularly strong in Tier 2 and 3 cities, highlighting the decentralisation of India’s employment boom.
Women’s Participation Hits Record Highs
One of the standout findings of the report is the surge in women’s participation in the workforce. Over 62 lakh job applications were submitted by women on Apna, representing a 23 per cent rise compared to Q1 2024. Flexible work options, stronger gender diversity initiatives, and growing opportunities in sectors such as BPO, finance, HR, and education fuelled this trend.
The momentum was especially notable in Tier 2 and 3 cities. Cities like Chandigarh (142 per cent growth), Indore (131 per cent), Jamshedpur (146 per cent), and Dehradun (131 per cent) outpaced metros in the growth of women’s applications. While Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad still led in absolute numbers, with over 32 lakh applications, smaller cities saw women submitting more than 25 lakh applications — up 35 per cent from last year.
SMBs responded positively to this trend by posting over 28,500 jobs exclusively for women, a 41.1 per cent rise year-on-year. Enterprise hiring of women candidates saw an even bigger jump, with women’s enterprise applications doubling from 3.8 lakh to 7.3 lakh — a 92 per cent surge compared to Q1 2024.
Freshers drive talent momentum
Freshers and early-career professionals also played a key role in powering India’s employment surge. The “India at Work” report shows that freshers submitted over 66 lakh job applications in Q1 2025, a 46 per cent rise from the previous year.
Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh were among the top contributors, driven by strong activity in cities like Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Indore, and Rajkot. Southern states such as Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu also witnessed a spike, led by hiring in software development, operations, and retail sectors.
The emergence of freshers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such as Meerut, Jabalpur, Prayagraj, Gwalior, and Warangal reflects a shift towards a more geographically diverse workforce. Over 70 per cent of new fresher users hold degrees or professional certifications, aligning with the rising industry focus on skill readiness.
SMBs Emerge As India’s Top Job Creators
The report highlights the pivotal role played by SMBs in driving hiring across the country. SMBs posted over 2.1 lakh job openings on Apna in Q1 2025 — a 31.75 per cent increase from Q1 2024 — solidifying their position as India’s largest job creators.
Technology adoption is fuelling this growth, with SMBs increasingly embracing AI-powered hiring tools that have halved the time-to-hire and reduced hiring costs by 25 per cent. These innovations allowed SMBs to attract over 1.3 crore job applications in the first quarter alone.
While metros like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru continue to dominate hiring volumes, the surge in Tier 2 and 3 cities such as Surat, Indore, Nagpur, and Patna points to the broader democratisation of India’s job market.
As per the report, enterprises, too, posted over 1 lakh job openings on Apna in Q1 2025, reflecting a 41.8 per cent year-on-year rise. Companies such as LIC, Delhivery, Paytm, Flipkart, and Aditya Birla Capital led the hiring surge, with strong demand for roles in delivery, field sales, customer support, and frontline finance.
The report notes that while metros led in absolute numbers, non-metro regions saw faster growth rates. Cities like Indore, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Warangal, and Meerut posted 20–50 per cent growth in enterprise job openings.
Women’s participation in enterprise hiring saw a dramatic jump, with applications rising by 92 per cent. Roles such as telecalling, HR executive, customer support agent, and sales coordinator saw particularly high engagement from women applicants.
Another key trend captured by the report is the deepening of digital hiring in Tier 2 cities. Apna recorded a 65.4 per cent increase in job postings for Software/Web Developer roles and a 42.2 per cent rise in fresher applications for tech jobs.
Cities like Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Rajkot, and Warangal are emerging as new tech talent hubs, thanks to better digital infrastructure and the growing adoption of remote work models. With India’s digital economy on track to reach USD 1 trillion by 2030, these cities are set to play a key role in the country’s tech-driven future.
Nirmit Parikh, Founder and CEO, Apna, said, “From Delhi to Dehradun, Surat to Samastipur, we saw hiring become truly decentralised. In just one quarter, over 1.81 crore job applications were submitted on Apna. That’s not just a statistic — it’s 1.81 crore stories of determination. India is not just working — India is winning.”