India tech hiring demand drops 24% year-on-year at the start of 2026: Xpheno

Hiring cools further as 2026 begins

India’s technology job market has started 2026 on a softer note, with active tech job openings falling 24% year-on-year to about 103,000 roles, according to staffing firm Xpheno’s Active Tech Jobs Outlook – India (January 2026). The report described this level as among the lowest demand readings since January 2021.

The slowdown follows a muted 2025, and the report said demand slipped about 1% month-on-month as well, signalling that the market has not yet found a clear recovery rhythm. The data also suggests the current demand is dramatically below the hiring peak seen in early 2022, when active openings were far higher and the sector was a major driver of overall job creation.

Which roles and segments are seeing pressure

While entry-level roles saw some marginal improvement, the report indicated that mid-senior and senior hiring cohorts were weaker. Functionally, core tech and engineering roles continued to make up the largest share of openings, but the year-on-year decline for those roles was steep, reflecting reduced urgency in fresh builds and slower project pipelines.

The report also pointed to softness in associated roles such as consulting, project management, and sales and marketing, even as certain sub-functions showed pockets of resilience. In other words, the slowdown is not restricted to coders alone; it is spreading across roles that support technology delivery and go-to-market execution.

City concentration remains, but demand is weaker

Hiring remained concentrated in India’s major tech hubs such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR, which traditionally capture the bulk of active demand. However, the report highlighted a sharp year-on-year drop in demand in these large markets, suggesting that even the biggest clusters are feeling the pullback.

What this could mean next

A prolonged hiring slowdown can change the shape of the talent market—cooling salary pressure, increasing candidate availability, and encouraging companies to prioritise redeployment and internal mobility. For job seekers, it typically means longer hiring cycles and greater emphasis on role-specific skills, domain knowledge and proof of impact.

The key watchpoint is whether demand stabilises in the next few months as global tech spending decisions and enterprise budgets reset for 2026. Until then, the data implies caution, especially in mid-to-senior hiring where organisations often slow first when uncertainty rises.