India’s IT services sector is heading toward one of its strongest hiring demand levels in 18 months, with active talent demand rising to 57,000 roles in September 2026.
The figure is the highest since February 2025, when demand stood at around 80,000 roles, according to data from specialist staffing firm Xpheno. The rebound has lifted overall hiring demand across the wider technology cohort to 117,000 roles, close to the 119,000 recorded in March 2026. Mid-senior and senior positions account for nearly 60% of the active demand, which points to a continued preference for experienced, execution-focused talent over broad-based recruitment.
“As the largest employer in the Indian IT sector, the current recovery in the services cohort is definitely the sleeping giant waking up. A sustained momentum in the months ahead will be a welcome shift,” said Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno.
The recovery is being shaped as much by the type of talent employers want as by the volume. “Roles that mention AI in software development have grown 138 per cent between Q2 2024 and Q2 2026, even as overall software development postings stayed roughly flat,” said Sashi Kumar, managing director of Indeed India. He added that entry-level opportunities continue, but “the bar is rising, with employers placing greater weight on job-ready digital capability over headcount alone.”
The technology sector’s share of India’s total active talent demand has risen to 51%, crossing the 50% mark for the first time in FY27. Xpheno defines the technology cohort as startups, software product firms, global capability centres, Big Four firms, IT services companies and technology roles in non-tech sectors.
The uptick follows several quarters of cautious hiring as firms restructured around AI and cost discipline. Not every segment is rising in step: the software products segment has 19,000 openings, down 17% month-on-month, even as IT services and GCC demand lead the recovery.
