IT Services Drive Hiring Recovery with Rising Demand for Tech and AI Skills
India’s technology employment market is showing clearer signs of recovery, with the number of active tech job openings reaching 123,000 in October 2026—the highest level recorded in the past 18 months.The latest data from Xpheno’s Active Tech Jobs Outlook – India, October 2026 points to a market that has steadily moved away from the lows seen earlier this year. Active technology openings increased 5% from September and were 17% higher than October 2025.
The recovery, however, is not evenly distributed. IT services companies are emerging as the strongest hiring engine, while Global Capability Centres (GCCs) continue to maintain significantly higher hiring levels than a year ago.
IT services drive the rebound
IT services companies accounted for approximately 66,000 active technology openings in October. That represents a 16% monthly increase and a substantial 57% rise compared with October 2025.The October figure marks an 18-month high for the IT services segment.
Demand is particularly visible in areas such as AI engineering, analytics and technical leadership. According to Xpheno co-founder Kamal Karanth, hiring momentum across these categories indicates that companies are moving beyond simply maintaining existing technology operations and are rebuilding specialist talent pools.This makes IT services the biggest contributor to the broader recovery in India’s technology hiring market.
GCC hiring remains structurally strong
Global Capability Centres recorded around 18,000 active technology openings during October. Although hiring was broadly unchanged from September, the number was 64% higher than a year earlier.
GCCs therefore continue to represent an important part of India’s technology employment landscape. Their approximately 15% share of total active tech openings also highlights the continuing expansion of technology functions within multinational companies operating from India.However, the month-on-month pause suggests that the GCC hiring cycle may be entering a more measured phase after strong growth over the previous year.
Product companies and startups remain under pressure
The recovery is less visible among software product companies and funded startups.Software product companies had around 16,000 active openings, a decline of 16% from September and 38% from October 2025.Funded technology startups recorded approximately 12,000 openings. While this was broadly unchanged from the previous month, it remained 29% below the level seen a year earlier.
Technology positions within the Big Four and Big Ten accounted for another 5,000 openings, while technology functions in non-technology sectors contributed around 6,000.The numbers suggest that India’s technology employment recovery is currently being led more strongly by established IT services and large organisations than by startups and product businesses.
Experienced professionals are benefiting most
One of the clearest characteristics of the current recovery is the preference for experienced technology professionals.Mid-senior positions accounted for 68,000 openings, representing roughly 55% of all active technology jobs in October.Demand for this group rose 6% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year.Entry-level openings stood at 15,000. Although they declined 6% from September, they were still 15% above the year-earlier level.Mid-junior opportunities showed stronger momentum, rising 40% month-on-month to around 7,000 openings.
The pattern suggests that employers are currently placing considerable emphasis on candidates who can bring existing technical expertise and become productive relatively quickly.
Permanent employment dominates
Full-time employment continues to account for the overwhelming majority of technology opportunities. Approximately 93,000 openings, or 76% of the total, were full-time positions. Full-time demand increased 3% from September and 11% year-on-year.Contract opportunities stood at around 4,000, while internships and part-time positions also accounted for approximately 4,000 openings each. Interestingly, internships and part-time technology opportunities were 95% higher than a year earlier, potentially indicating a gradual expansion of alternative entry routes into the technology workforce.The market is also becoming fresher. Xpheno’s freshness index reached 49%, three percentage points higher than September and six points above October 2025. This means nearly half of the active openings had either been newly posted or refreshed within the preceding two weeks.
Technology and engineering remain the largest job category
Core technology and engineering functions continued to represent the largest portion of demand, with around 61,000 openings.
But hiring growth is extending beyond conventional engineering roles.Technology-focused business development, sales and marketing positions reached approximately 14,000 openings, while consulting and advisory roles stood at 5,000.Other technology functions accounted for another 40,000 openings and showed particularly strong year-on-year growth.The trend indicates that India’s technology employment market is becoming broader, with companies hiring not only engineers and developers but also professionals supporting consulting, commercial and business-facing technology functions.
Bengaluru remains India’s technology hiring capital
India’s largest technology centres continue to dominate overall demand.
The major metropolitan technology hubs together accounted for approximately 83,000 openings, or 67% of the national total.Bengaluru remained the largest individual market, with around 31,000 active openings in October, an 11% increase from September.
Hyderabad followed with 14,000 openings and recorded a particularly strong 27% monthly increase. Chennai had 8,000 openings, while Delhi NCR recorded 9,000.Mumbai reached 6,000 openings after a 20% monthly increase, whereas Pune declined 14% from September to approximately 6,000 openings.
The picture changes when viewed year-on-year. Hyderabad and Mumbai posted particularly strong annual growth, while Bengaluru remained below its October 2025 level.Meanwhile, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are becoming increasingly important. These markets collectively accounted for around 40,000 openings, up an impressive 67% from a year earlier, despite a small monthly decline.
Work-from-office hiring is gaining momentum
The recovery in technology employment is also coinciding with a significant shift in workplace expectations.Around 100,000 active full-time openings were classified as work-from-office roles, representing approximately 81% of total active technology demand.
WFO hiring increased 9% month-on-month and 32% year-on-year.By comparison, remote opportunities declined to around 10,000, while hybrid positions stood at approximately 13,000.This suggests that the growth in technology employment is increasingly being accompanied by a return to office-based working models.
What the numbers mean for India’s tech workforce
The October data points to a technology employment market that is recovering on several fronts rather than simply experiencing a temporary increase in vacancies.IT services are leading the improvement, GCCs remain significantly stronger than a year ago, and demand for experienced professionals is particularly robust.
At the same time, the decline in remote and hybrid opportunities indicates that the nature of technology employment is changing along with the recovery in job volumes.For technology professionals, the message is relatively clear: companies are hiring, but the strongest opportunities appear to be concentrated in AI, engineering, analytics, technical leadership and other roles where prior experience can translate quickly into business impact.
For employers, the growing demand for experienced talent could also increase competition for specialised technology professionals as hiring momentum strengthens.
Source note
The figures in this article are based on Xpheno’s Active Tech Jobs Outlook – India, October 2026. Xpheno defines active jobs as employer-posted openings that remain active, have been refreshed or are accepting applications during the relevant period. Recruitment mandates and vacancies posted exclusively through staffing and recruitment agencies are excluded.
Disclaimer: – Aim of this post is spread positivity in current scenario.