There are encouraging signs in India's technology labor market: the number of vacancies in the country has reached its highest level in the last eighteen months. According to data, active jobs exceeded the 123 thousand mark in October. However, despite the market growth, it should be noted that this boom may not be as favorable for university graduates as it seems.
According to the latest report by 'Xpheno' on the prospects of active technology vacancies, demand for jobs in October 2026 increased by 5% compared to September and by 17% compared to the same month last year. Nevertheless, this market recovery is unevenly distributed, and most opportunities are available to highly qualified specialists.
Data analysis shows that the highest demand is concentrated in the mid-senior (experienced) segment. This category alone has 68,000 vacancies, accounting for 55% of the total open positions, with an annual growth of 19% observed.
In contrast, the number of vacancies for beginners or entry-level positions was only 15,000. Although this figure is higher than last year (a 15% increase), it decreased by 6% compared to September. This indicates that the market is expanding, but the most valuable positions go to experienced employees.
Details of hiring levels
The distribution of vacancies is as follows: mid-senior — 68,000 (55% of the total, annual growth +19%); entry-level — 15,000 (annual growth +15%, but monthly decrease of 6%); mid-junior — 7,000 (monthly growth +40%, annual growth +17%); and also 2,000 positions for seniors and 31,000 other/unspecified positions.
Companies are actively seeking specific skills. The IT services sector is providing the greatest support to the market recovery, with 66,000 active jobs, which is 57% more than in October of last year. According to 'Xpheno', companies are relying less and less solely on diplomas; huge demand is observed for roles such as AI Engineering, Data Analyst, and Technical Leadership. Data from the top six IT companies shows that the talent pool in these specific areas has grown from 14% to 22% over the last two quarters.
Roles related to core technologies and engineering lead in the total number of jobs, with 61,000 positions. Next are Tech Business Development and Sales (14,000), Tech Consulting (5,000), and IT Project Management (3,000).
In Global Capability Centers (GCCs), 18,000 vacancies are available, which is 64% more than the previous year. However, the most significant change has occurred in the work format. 100,000 jobs (81% of total demand) assume full office work (Work-From-Office, WFO). At the same time, there is a significant drop in the number of remote and hybrid roles: the decline in remote format was 23%, and in hybrid—19%.
Bengaluru remains the largest center for technology vacancies with 31,000 jobs. It is followed by Hyderabad (14,000) and Delhi-NCR (9,000). However, the growth in second and third-tier cities is particularly noteworthy: the number of active technology jobs in smaller towns has increased to 40,000, demonstrating an impressive annual growth of 67%.
