India's services surplus covered 64% of its goods trade gap in September
Services earned back $19.2 bn of a $30.2 bn goods gap in September, up from 57% a year ago, while services imports grew faster than exports.
CapitalVia Research Desk ·
Data story · Jobs
White-collar hiring · October 2026
Hiring grew 14% this October. Over two years, it grew 3.8%.
Last October was unusually weak: Diwali fell on 20 October 2025, and hiring dipped 9%. Measure this year against that soft month and the jump looks big. Measure it against October 2024 and most of it goes away.
vs Oct 2025
+14%
The headline growth figure
vs Oct 2024
+3.8%
Growth over two years
Four Octobers of the Naukri JobSpeak index
The index tracks new white-collar job listings and recruiter searches on Naukri.com (July 2008 = 1,000).
Oct 2023
2,484
Oct 2024
2,733
Oct 2025Diwali month
2,480
Oct 2026
2,836
The weak base: −9.3% vs Oct 2024This October
+4.5% a yearAverage yearly growth since October 2023
+3.8%October 2026 vs October 2024
Sector by sector: two-year change, with the one-year figure alongside
Hiring index change, October 2024 → October 2026. Blue = above 2024, grey = below.
Accounting & finance1-yr +17%
+35%
Consumer durables1-yr +53%
+32%
BPO / ITES1-yr +17%
+23%
Auto & auto parts1-yr +36%
+17%
Industrial products1-yr +32%
+11%
Real estate1-yr +12%
+8%
FMCG1-yr +6%
−0.5%
Education1-yr −16%
−5%
Insurance1-yr −3%
−10%
IT software & services1-yr +5%
−11%
Banking & financial services1-yr +16%
−11%
Legal1-yr −21%
−39%
−40%0+40%
+16% → −11%
Banking hiring rose 16% on last year. It is still 11% below October 2024. IT software reads +5% for the year and −11% over two years.
What this means for you
Salaried
A 14% jump doesn't make it a hot job market. If you work in IT, banking or insurance, there are fewer openings than two years ago. Plan your next move with that in mind.
Founders
Demand for finance, BPO and factory-side talent is well above 2024. Expect tighter hiring and firmer pay asks in those roles than in tech.
Leaders
Compare against two years ago, not one. Diwali falls on 8 November this year, so November's comparison will likely look weak. That will be the calendar, not a slump.
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