Hiring activities in the country increased in December on the back of better prospects, primarily in auto and banking sectors, according to a survey.

The uptick in recruitment activities last month is a "positive sign" especially since December generally sees slowdown in hiring trends, job portal Naukri.com said.

Auto and banking sectors were upbeat with their hiring plans last month while areas such as telecom, pharma, construction and insurance too witnessed positive movements.

The Naukri Job Speak Index, a monthly indicator of hiring activities online, rose to 1,150 in December from 1,120 in November.

"Traditionally, December has always been a month where recruitment slows down across sectors, however this year barring minor dips in IT, ITes and oil & gas sector hiring activity has picked up across all the other major sectors," Naukri.com said in a statement.

Info Edge India CEO and MD Hitesh Oberoi said it is definitely a positive sign that hiring activity perked up in the final month of 2012.

"Job creation in this quarter will take place in the new emerging growth sectors rather than the traditional ones," he added.

Naukri.com is part of Info Edge group.

On a monthly basis, hiring trends climbed eight per cent in Mumbai and Pune last month.