India sees 92 pc surge in job applications by women for enterprise job roles
India’s job market is surging ahead with renewed momentum in 2025, with applications from women for enterprise roles seeing a 92 per cent surge, a new report said on Monday.
The report based on the first quarter of this year by jobs and professional networking platform Apna, witnessed a record-breaking 1.81 crore job applications -- a 30 per cent increase from the previous year. This reflects India’s growing economic optimism and digital hiring boom across sectors.
Women’s participation in the workforce soared, with over 62 lakh applications -- a 23 per cent year-on-year jump.
This growth was most pronounced in Tier 2 and 3 cities such as Chandigarh, Indore, and Jamshedpur, driven by flexible work options, gender-inclusive hiring, and expanded opportunities in sectors like BPO, finance, and HR, the report said.
Freshers also powered India’s employment engine, contributing over 66 lakh applications -- a 46 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. With companies increasingly recruiting from beyond metro cities, emerging talent hubs like Rajkot, Warangal, and Meerut are now part of the mainstream hiring narrative.
Further, the job platform witnessed 3.1 lakh job postings, up 26 per cent from Q1 2024.
SMBs led the charge, posting over 2.1 lakh jobs, including 28,547 roles exclusively for women.
Enterprise hiring rose sharply with companies like LIC, Paytm, Delhivery, and Flipkart creating over 1 lakh openings, expanding recruitment beyond metros and tapping into the national talent pool.
“We’re seeing people find not just any job, but the right job -- faster than ever before. 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. From Tier 1 metros to the most remote Tier 3 towns, India is not just working -- India is winning,” said NirmitParikh, Founder and CEO of Apna.
The report showed that India's digital transformation continues to gain momentum, particularly in Tier 2 cities, where the demand for advanced tech talent is soaring.
In Q1 2025, the platform recorded a remarkable 65.4 per cent increase in job postings for software/web developer roles, alongside a 42.2 per cent rise in fresher applications for these positions compared to the previous year.
This surge highlights the growing need for specialised professionals in fields such as AI/ML, cybersecurity, business intelligence, and data-driven operations, as enterprises in these regions expand their digital capabilities, the report said.
