India’s technology sector is seeing another leg down in hiring momentum, with active demand for tech talent in May falling from the previous month and showing little sign of a near-term recovery, according to an industry hiring outlook report.
Active tech job openings are projected at about 1,08,000 in May, a 2 per cent decline from April, reversing gains seen earlier in the year and pushing demand below levels recorded in February, the Xpheno report found. The May outlook is more than 9 per cent lower than the peak seen in March and broadly in line with hiring volumes a year earlier, pointing to a prolonged slowdown.
The moderation follows a cautious start to the new fiscal year, with employers across technology cohorts maintaining conservative hiring plans amid global uncertainty, geopolitical risks and uneven demand from key overseas markets. The report said there were no visible catalysts that could meaningfully lift hiring sentiment in the near term, suggesting current volumes and pace could persist through the rest of the quarter and into the next.
The technology sector’s share of India’s total active talent demand has slipped to about 47 per cent, falling below the 50 per cent mark for the second time since late last year. That compares with a peak of nearly 87 per cent in early 2022, highlighting a sharp shift in the sector’s dominance of the job market after a prolonged downturn that began in the second half of 2022.
Hiring sentiment remains cautious on both sides of the market, the report said, with fewer recruiter approaches making job seekers more selective, while employers remain sensitive to global and domestic developments. The spread of “AI-led” narratives around roles and skills has added to uncertainty, it said.
By role type, full-time positions continue to dominate but are shrinking. Full-time openings are estimated at around 80,000, accounting for nearly three-quarters of total demand and down 6 per cent from April. Contract roles are largely flat month-on-month, while internships and part-time roles rose sharply from a low base. Compared with a year earlier, contract openings are significantly higher, while full-time roles are marginally lower.
Demand for mid- to senior-level talent weakened sharply, falling 12 per cent from April, while entry-level openings declined to about 13,000 and were down nearly a fifth from a year earlier.
Among major hiring cohorts, demand from IT services companies, traditionally the largest consumers of tech talent, was flat month-on-month at roughly 43,000 openings, but down 17 per cent from a year ago. In contrast, global capability centres continued to expand hiring, with active demand rising 20 per cent from April and nearly 30 per cent on the year.
Geographically, about two-thirds of active tech demand remains concentrated in major cities, though volumes there are down sharply from a year earlier. Hiring from smaller cities fell on the month but more than doubled compared with last year, reflecting a low base.
Work-from-office roles accounted for more than 70 per cent of full-time openings and were broadly unchanged from April, while remote roles declined sharply and hybrid roles posted modest growth.
Overall, the report said, the sustained softness in tech hiring marks a significant shift in the sector’s positioning in India’s job market and could influence education choices and talent pipelines over the medium to long term if opportunities remain limited. |
