Nearly 6 in 10 professionals in India say their job title does not reflect their compensation, according to Indeed’s latest quarterly Hiring Tracker, pointing to a widening gap between recognition and reward in the country’s workplaces.
The report draws on inputs from 2,533 employees and 1,211 employers across India, in a survey conducted by Valuvox for Indeed in May and June 2026. It spanned industries, organisation sizes and career stages, and covered locations from Tier 1 to Tier 3 cities and rural areas.
The tracker found that nearly 80% of professionals believe title inflation has become common across industries, with many observing colleagues carrying increasingly senior-sounding designations that are not matched by comparable pay. Nearly 1 in 3 employees who received a title change over the past two years said it came with either no salary increase or an increment of less than 5%. More than half of employers, in turn, acknowledged giving out senior-sounding roles to attract or retain people when they could not offer higher pay.
Employees are not dismissing titles altogether. Around 70% of respondents said their designation plays an important role in shaping future career opportunities, and about 73% felt a stronger title improves how potential employers perceive them. At the same time, 52% said they would choose a higher salary over a better designation when weighing a new opportunity.
Commenting on the findings, Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India, said: “A job title has always carried professional identity. Titles remain meaningful because they signal opportunity and capability, but they are most effective when they reflect genuine career progression rather than becoming a substitute for it. Building that alignment will be increasingly important for organisations looking to attract and retain talent in a competitive market.”
The findings land amid a broader debate on compensation and recognition in India, where earlier Indeed research this year flagged a similar disconnect on AI skills, with employers paying premiums to recruit AI talent even as many existing employees said their pay had not kept pace.
