New Delhi, Aug 18 - Hiring activity picked up in five metros, including Delhi and Mumbai, in July with employers from pharma, auto and IT sectors leading the recruitment drive, according to a survey.

A three-month moving hiring average for sectors like real estate, semiconductors, banking, auto and IT showed that recruitment was up in these industries as compared to previous quarters, the hiring scenario survey by leading recruitment portal naukri.com said.

'The uptrend over consecutive months is encouraging. Improvement in hiring activity in lagging industries such as IT, real estate, retail and auto, echoes optimism,' said Sumeet Singh, national head (marketing and communications) of Info Edge, the parent company of naukri.com.

'However, continued increases in hiring activity over the next few months will indicate a turnaround in economic activity and in hiring,' Singh added.

Delhi-NCR (national capital region) saw hiring activity move up by 7 percent in July as compared to June, while fresh jobs in Mumbai grew for a second consecutive month, rising by 3 percent.