Hiring activity registered a 14 per cent growth in April, led by sectors such as IT-software, ITES, insurance and pharma, says a report by Naukri.Com.

The Naukri Job Speak Index for April 2016 stood at 1,984 recording an increase of 14 per cent in hiring activity over same month last year.

"Job market seems to sustain the momentum gained over the past few quarters with a 14 per cent Y-o-Y growth in April post a 22 per cent growth in March. Apart from sectors like IT, ITES and BPO, good to see the pharma/biotech sector growing at 15 per cent," Naukri.Com Chief Sales Officer V Suresh said.

Sectors like banking and telecom which reported sustained growth till December 2015, reported a negative sentiment for April 2016.

IT software sector saw 18 per cent growth in new jobs on good demand for professionals in April over same period last year. Similar trends were seen for sales and business development professionals, where on year on year basis, they saw an 11 per cent increase in new jobs.

Meanwhile, demand for professionals in ITES witnessed an impressive 40 per cent growth in new jobs creation in the month of April this year over same period last year. Demand for professionals in this sector is reporting a positive growth from November 2015 onwards.

Among the metros, Delhi/NCR leads the city list with a 42 per cent growth followed by Hyderabad and Chennai at 30 per cent.

Bengaluru and Mumbai reported 25 per cent and 24 per cent growth respectively while Kolkata reported a dip of (-) 3 per cent in hiring activity in April this year, the report said.