India tech hiring demand slips further; active openings fall 24% year-on-year, report says

India’s technology job market has opened 2026 on a cautious note, with a staffing and labour-market report indicating that active tech job openings are down sharply versus last year. The findings suggest demand has not yet recovered from a sluggish 2025, and the early-2026 pipeline remains soft even as companies continue to invest selectively in priority areas.

The report estimates active tech openings at roughly 103,000 roles, about 24% lower than a year earlier, and among the weakest levels seen since 2021. It also points to a demand profile in which entry-level hiring shows pockets of resilience, while mid-senior and senior roles stay constrained — a pattern consistent with cost control and project prioritisation after years of rapid expansion.

Where hiring is slowing — and where it isn’t

IT services firms, traditionally the largest consumers of tech talent, were cited as seeing lower demand compared with last year, reflecting continued caution from global clients and uncertainty in key export markets. By contrast, global capability centres (GCCs) were flagged as a relative bright spot, with demand showing improvement on a month-on-month basis in the data referenced by the report.

Functionally, core engineering roles remain the biggest bucket, but their demand is down year-on-year in the report’s view. That shift has implications for jobseekers: companies may still hire, but the bar for role fit, skills and immediate project relevance is likely higher, with greater emphasis on productivity and shorter time-to-impact.

How candidates can respond in a softer market

• Prioritise roles with clear business outcomes (platform reliability, security, data, AI ops)
• Show measurable impact (latency, cost, uptime, conversion, defect reduction) in resumes
• Target GCCs and product teams that continue to build India centres
• Stay flexible on location and hybrid models as demand remains metro-concentrated