India's active tech job demand rises 3% in August, signals slow recovery: Report

Despite the rebound, hiring remains below earlier highs. According to the report, the recovery has been gradual as technology companies continue to assess evolving global market conditions and client demand before significantly expanding their workforce.

Tech hiring in non-tech sectors rose 17% month-on-month and 75% year-on-year, while Big 4 and Big 10 technology functions recorded a 25% monthly increase and 67% annual growth. Bengaluru retained its position as India's largest technology hiring hub with 23,000 openings, followed by Hyderabad.

What Happened

Mumbai and Pune recorded strong monthly gains of 33% and 17%, respectively. The report also highlights continued momentum outside major metros.

• The report projects 109,000 active tech job openings in August 2026, representing a 3% month-on-month increase over July and a 6% rise compared to August 2025.

• The improvement comes after active demand fell to a 28-month low in June 2026, with hiring volumes recovering more than 17% since that trough.

• August's projected demand is still 8.5% lower than the 119,000 active openings recorded in March 2026, suggesting employers are cautiously resuming recruitment rather than returning to aggressive hiring.

Key Details

Active openings across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities reached 42,000, rising 5% over July and nearly doubling year-on-year, while demand across the six largest metropolitan markets grew only 2% month-on-month and remained 26% below last year's levels. Work-from-office continues to dominate India's technology.

• Full-time positions account for the majority of hiring activity, with 81,000 openings, or nearly three-fourths of all active vacancies.

• While full-time hiring increased just 1% over July, contract roles grew 33% month-on-month to 4,000 openings, and internship and part-time opportunities rose 50% to 3,000 positions, albeit from a smaller base.

• Mid-senior professionals continue to remain the largest hiring segment, accounting for 56,000 openings, or 51% of total demand.

Why It Matters

The report estimates 84,000 full-time office-based roles, accounting for 77% of all active tech openings, while remote positions increased 9% month-on-month to 12,000. Hybrid hiring remained broadly unchanged from July and was 7% lower than a year earlier.

• Entry-level hiring also improved to 15,000 active openings, marking a 7% monthly increase, although it remains 6% lower than a year ago.

• Among employer categories, IT services firms continue to be the largest source of tech hiring with 44,000 active openings, up 5% month-on-month.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• However, hiring in the segment remains 6% lower than last year, reflecting continued pressure on India's outsourcing industry.

• Hiring by global capability centres (GCCs) stood at 17,000 openings, declining 6% from July but remaining 21% higher than August 2025, indicating stronger long-term momentum despite a monthly dip.

• Continued reporting by Storyboard18 as more details emerge