IT Hiring Trends in India 2026: What the Data Shows

Last updated: 8 October 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

Quick answer: IT hiring in India is growing again in 2026, but slowly and selectively. The Naukri JobSpeak Index showed IT sector hiring up 11% year-on-year in August 2026, after Xpheno data showed active tech openings down 24% in January 2026. IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for the second half of 2026 (TeamLease EdTech), while GCCs and AI, cloud and data skills are gaining share.

Key takeaways

• The Naukri JobSpeak Index showed IT sector hiring up 11% year-on-year in August 2026, against 14% growth in overall white-collar hiring.
• Xpheno data showed 1,03,000 active tech job openings in India in January 2026, down 24% year-on-year and about 60% below the early-2022 peak.
• TeamLease EdTech's August 2026 report found IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for July-December 2026 from 81% in the previous half-year.
• TCS plans to hire 25,000 campus professionals in FY27 while increasing the share of specialised, higher-paid campus hires above 40%.
• GCCs accounted for 16% of active tech demand in January 2026, and UnearthIQ counted 111 new GCC set-ups in India in 2026 by late September.

IT hiring in India in 2026 is not a single story. Overall white-collar hiring has picked up, but traditional IT services companies are hiring fewer freshers, paying a premium for specialised skills, and losing ground to global capability centres (GCCs). This guide pulls together the most recent dated data so you can see what is actually happening, and what it means for your job search.

Is IT hiring in India growing in 2026?

Yes, IT hiring is growing again in 2026, but more slowly than the wider job market and from a low base. The Naukri JobSpeak Index showed IT sector hiring up 11% year-on-year in August 2026, while overall white-collar hiring rose 14%, with the index at 3,028 versus 2,664 a year earlier, as reported by Business Standard.

The starting point matters. At the beginning of the year, active tech job openings were 1,03,000 in January 2026, down 24% from 1,36,000 a year earlier and about 60% below the early-2022 peak of over 2,60,000, according to staffing firm Xpheno's data reported by Business Standard.

Are IT companies hiring freshers in 2026?

Yes, but in smaller numbers and with more weight on specialised skills. TeamLease EdTech's Career Outlook Report, released in August 2026 and based on 1,097 employers, found IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for July to December 2026 from 81% in the previous half, even as overall fresher hiring intent rose to 75% from 73%, per Business Standard.

Large IT firms are still recruiting from campuses, with changes:

• TCS plans to hire 25,000 campus professionals in FY27, while increasing the share of specialised, higher-paid hiring above last year's 40%. Its tiers were listed as Ninja (Rs 3.36 LPA and above), Digital (Rs 7 LPA) and Prime (Rs 10 LPA), as reported in July 2026.
• HCLTech said it will prioritise a smaller number of "elite engineers" with niche skills, paid roughly three to four times traditional engineering salaries, per the same report.
• Industry staffing firms quoted in that report expect specialised-skill hiring to rise from about 30 to 40% of campus hiring to 45 to 55% in FY27.

Interestingly, Naukri JobSpeak showed fresher hiring across all sectors up 15% year-on-year in August 2026 (Business Standard). Put together, the data suggests fresher demand is shifting towards other sectors and towards skill-tested roles within IT. Our guides to IT jobs for freshers and campus vs off-campus placement cover how to adapt.

Which IT skills are employers hiring for in 2026?

AI, cloud, cybersecurity and data engineering top the list of skills IT firms are prioritising in 2026. The July 2026 Business Standard report on campus hiring named AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data engineering as priority areas, along with AI-adjacent abilities such as prompt design, workflow automation, model evaluation and building simple AI agents (Business Standard).

TeamLease EdTech's August 2026 report listed full-stack engineering, cloud security, business analytics, healthcare technology and ESG among in-demand skills, and roles such as AI application developer and data centre operations associate (Business Standard).

Hybrid profiles are especially valued. An ICRIER study of 650 IT firms in 10 cities, conducted between November 2025 and January 2026, found 63% of companies reported higher demand for candidates who combine domain expertise with AI skills, per Business Standard. For a detailed breakdown, see our guide to in-demand skills in India for 2026.

Which cities are leading IT and tech hiring in 2026?

Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune are leading among the big metros, with fast growth in some smaller cities. In the August 2026 Naukri JobSpeak data, overall hiring grew 23% year-on-year in Hyderabad, 20% in Chennai and 14% each in Bengaluru and Pune, while Delhi NCR rose 10% and Mumbai 7%; emerging cities such as Bhubaneswar (32%) and Raipur (23%) grew fastest (Business Standard).

TeamLease EdTech's fresher survey put Bengaluru at the top for fresher hiring intent, at 89%, followed by Mumbai at 75% and Chennai at 71% (Business Standard). City guides for Bengaluru and Hyderabad explain the local job markets.

Which experience levels saw the biggest drop in tech openings?

Senior and entry-level tech roles saw the steepest falls at the start of 2026. In Xpheno's January 2026 data, active openings for senior roles fell 22% year-on-year and entry-level openings fell 18%, while mid-senior openings fell 12%, according to Business Standard.

That pattern matters for freshers. It means competition for each entry-level opening was tighter in early 2026, and the recovery seen later in the year has been uneven. A focused application to a role that fits your skills usually beats mass-applying to every "fresher" listing. Our guide on how to get your first IT job in India explains how to prioritise.

How are GCCs changing IT hiring in India?

GCCs are taking a growing share of tech hiring as traditional IT services slows. In January 2026, GCCs accounted for 17,000 active tech openings, or 16% of tech demand, up 7% year-on-year even as total tech openings fell 24%, according to Xpheno's data (Business Standard). Xpheno expected GCCs to add workforce faster than IT service providers.

New centres keep opening. Research firm UnearthIQ counted 111 new GCC set-ups in India in 2026 so far, compared with 100 in 2025, with 40 of the 2026 set-ups being small "nano" GCCs, as reported in September 2026. Our guide on how to get a job at a GCC in India explains how their hiring differs.

What do most guides on IT hiring trends get wrong?

Most guides quote one index and call it "the" trend. Different trackers measure different things: job postings on one portal, active openings across many, or employer survey intent. A month of 11% growth in postings and a 24% fall in active openings can both be true, because they measure different periods, sources and baselines.

The second mistake is treating "IT" as one market. IT services, IT product companies and GCCs are behaving very differently in 2026. Services firms are rationing fresher intake and slowing salary increments, while GCCs and AI-focused teams are expanding.

The third is reading AI as purely negative for hiring. The ICRIER study found firms reporting productivity gains from AI outnumbered those reporting losses by 3.5 to 1, and noted only a modest moderation in entry-level hiring (Business Standard). The bigger change is what entry-level roles now require. Our deeper look at how AI is changing IT jobs in India covers the evidence.

What should job seekers do with this data?

Use the trends to choose where to aim, not to decide whether to try. A practical plan for 2026:

1. Widen your target list beyond the big IT services firms to GCCs, product companies and non-IT sectors that are hiring tech talent.
2. Build one specialised skill on top of fundamentals: cloud, data engineering, cybersecurity or applied AI.
3. Prove it with projects you can explain in an interview, since skill-based campus tracks test practical ability.
4. Watch hiring calendars. Business Standard noted IT services campus hiring typically starts in August and September (Business Standard).
5. Tailor every application to the job description, because generic resumes struggle in a selective market.

FAQ

Is IT hiring improving in India in 2026?

Yes, gradually. The Naukri JobSpeak Index showed IT sector hiring up 11% year-on-year in August 2026, according to Business Standard. That followed a weak start: Xpheno data showed active tech openings at 1,03,000 in January 2026, down 24% from a year earlier. Growth is concentrated in specialised skills, GCCs and certain cities rather than across all IT roles.

Are IT companies hiring freshers in 2026?

Yes, but more selectively. TeamLease EdTech found IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for July to December 2026, from 81% in the previous half. TCS plans 25,000 campus hires in FY27 while raising the share of specialised, higher-paid roles. Freshers with demonstrable skills in AI, cloud, data or cybersecurity have an advantage in skill-based tracks.

Which city has the most IT jobs growth in 2026?

Among large metros, Hyderabad led overall white-collar hiring growth in the August 2026 Naukri JobSpeak data at 23% year-on-year, followed by Chennai at 20% and Bengaluru and Pune at 14% each. For fresher hiring intent, TeamLease EdTech's survey ranked Bengaluru highest at 89%, followed by Mumbai and Chennai.

Which tech skills are most in demand in India in 2026?

AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity and data engineering are the priority skills IT firms named for 2026 campus hiring, according to a July 2026 Business Standard report. TeamLease EdTech also highlighted full-stack engineering, cloud security and business analytics. An ICRIER study found 63% of IT firms want candidates combining domain expertise with AI skills.

Are GCCs hiring more than IT services companies?

GCCs are gaining share. In January 2026, GCCs accounted for 17,000 active tech openings, or 16% of tech demand, up 7% year-on-year while overall tech openings fell 24%, per Xpheno data. Xpheno expected GCCs to add workforce faster than IT service providers, and UnearthIQ counted 111 new GCC set-ups in 2026 by late September.

Why do different reports show different IT hiring numbers?

They measure different things. Naukri JobSpeak tracks new postings on one portal, Xpheno tracks active openings across sources, and TeamLease surveys employer hiring intent. Each uses different periods and baselines, so a rise in postings and a fall in active openings can both be accurate. Compare trends within the same tracker over time.

Final thoughts

The 2026 IT job market rewards targeted applications and specific skills more than volume. Before you apply, check how well your resume matches each role with the Asuraa AI resume reviewer, then browse current openings on Asuraa Jobs.