21 Nov: WorkIndia, India’s leading blue- and grey-collar recruitment platform, today released new insights on the country’s fast-evolving healthcare workforce. A comparison of hiring patterns from Jan–Dec 2024 and Jan–Oct 2025 reveals a significant surge in job creation, salaries, and candidate interest. This remarkable 40% jump in healthcare job applications year-on-year highlights not only the sector’s rapid expansion but also the intensifying environmental and climatic pressures reshaping India’s public health demands.
Pollution spikes, seasonal illnesses, and climate-driven health risks are fuelling an unprecedented need for urgent-care, technical, and frontline medical workers, reinforcing healthcare’s emergence as one of India’s fastest-growing and most sought-after employment segments.
Applications for healthcare roles surged 40% year-on-year, with the biggest metros, Cities, a strong 26% increase, and large non-metro cities to emerging towns and developing cities growing even faster, signalling a powerful wave of healthcare ambition emerging from non-metro India. Male applications rose 42.3%, slightly ahead of the 36.9% increase among females, while graduates led the momentum with an impressive 48% jump, the highest across all qualification groups. Role-wise, Chemist applications skyrocketed 65%, followed by 46% growth in medical roles, underscoring the sector’s accelerating shift toward technical and specialised healthcare careers.
Hiring across India’s healthcare sector has accelerated sharply in 2025, with the biggest metro cities recording a 10.6% rise and P4 cities close behind at 9.3%. This parallel growth across major metros and smaller urban clusters signals a clear shift: India’s healthcare demand is no longer concentrated in big cities alone. Fast-developing regional centres are emerging as critical hiring hotspots, reflecting broader investment in healthcare infrastructure and a nationwide push to strengthen frontline and technical medical capacity.
Technical and skilled medical roles are witnessing breakout growth across the healthcare sector. Lab Technician positions surged by 16%, the fastest among all categories, underscoring the industry’s increasing dependence on diagnostics and specialised testing. Chemist job postings also rose by 12.4%, reflecting heightened demand for pharmaceutical expertise and qualified talent in retail-medical environments. In contrast, Ward Boy roles declined by 3.1%, signalling a clear shift towards hiring more technically trained and skilled professionals as healthcare facilities scale up their capabilities.
Male-focused hiring in the healthcare sector recorded a notable surge, with job postings for male candidates rising 10.8%, nearly four times higher than the 2.6% growth seen for women. This trend becomes even more pronounced in technical categories, where Lab Technician roles for male applicants jumped by 23%, highlighting a strong employer preference for technically trained, job-ready male talent in specialised and critical healthcare functions.
Employers are increasingly open to hiring candidates without English proficiency, with job postings for non-English-speaking talent rising 19.5%, outpacing demand for fluent (12.1%) and intermediate (11.7%) speakers. However, despite this growing inclusivity, English remains a key salary differentiator. Roles requiring fluent or intermediate English reported 11.5–12% increases in average minimum salaries, compared to just 6% growth for positions with no English requirement, underscoring the continued earning advantage tied to language skills in the healthcare sector.
Experience has emerged as a major differentiator in healthcare hiring, with demand for candidates possessing 2+ years of experience soaring by 18.1%, significantly outpacing the modest growth seen for freshers (2.6%) and mid-level professionals (6.2%). This clear shift indicates that healthcare employers are increasingly prioritising proven, skilled talent who can deliver immediate on-ground impact, rather than relying on entry-level hires.
Graduates are increasingly commanding the spotlight in healthcare hiring, with roles targeting degree-holders growing 10.7%, far outpacing all other qualification groups, which rose by only 1–1.5%. This demand is further reinforced by stronger salary growth for graduates, reflecting employers’ growing preference for higher-educated candidates who bring greater job readiness, specialised knowledge and reliability to critical healthcare functions.
Salary growth within the healthcare sector has been particularly robust in developing markets. While overall minimum wages rose 6%, very small towns recorded a standout 15% increase, signalling aggressive competition for talent in smaller and emerging regions. Among job categories, medical roles posted the highest salary growth at 11.9%, underscoring the growing value placed on specialised healthcare expertise and advanced clinical capability.
Commenting on the report, Nilesh Dungarwal, Co-founder & CEO, WorkIndia, said: “India’s healthcare ecosystem is undergoing one of its most significant workforces shifts in recent years. Environmental pressures, rising healthcare needs and expanding regional healthcare infrastructure are driving unprecedented demand for skilled and experienced talent. Our data shows a clear industry pivot toward technical roles, graduates, and specialised professionals. The sharp rise in applications across non-metro cities also signals a more inclusive, pan-India healthcare growth narrative.”
As India’s healthcare landscape continues to expand and evolve, WorkIndia’s latest data underscores a sector undergoing a profound workforce transformation, one driven by rising environmental pressures, growing regional healthcare infrastructure and an increasing shift toward skilled, experienced and technically trained talent. With heightened employer demand and unprecedented candidate interest across metros and emerging cities alike, the healthcare industry is poised for sustained growth.
WorkIndia remains committed to empowering this momentum by connecting millions of job seekers with meaningful opportunities and supporting employers in building a future-ready healthcare workforce.