India's tech hiring slows as job openings fall 24%
What's the story
India's technology sector is witnessing a slowdown in hiring, with active job openings dropping by 24% year-on-year (YoY) in January 2026. The latest data from Xpheno, a staffing firm, shows there were 1.03 lakh active tech job openings last month. This is a far cry from the post-COVID-19 hiring boom when openings peaked at 2.6 lakh in January 2022.
Hiring challenges
Factors influencing the decline in tech job openings
The decline in tech job openings can be attributed to several factors. These include sectoral headwinds, a post-COVID-19 hiring rebalancing phase, and companies shifting their focus from headcount-led growth to specialization and smarter delivery models. Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, said that most tech and engineering functions were adequately staffed or even overstaffed during the hiring boom.
Role decline
Tech and engineering roles see significant drop
The data from Xpheno shows a 37% drop in active openings for tech and engineering roles, the largest functional cohort in the sector. However, consulting and other non-tech roles (sales and marketing) have seen a slight increase of 4% and 3%, respectively. This indicates a shift toward advisory services and strengthening sales/business development for order book building.
Strategic hiring
Focus on roles with direct business impact
Companies are now focusing their hiring efforts on roles that deliver direct business impact. This includes growth in consulting, sales, and marketing roles. Biswajeet Mahapatra, Principal Analyst at Forrester, said this shift indicates a focus on customer engagement and strategic execution. He added that tech hiring is being recalibrated to prioritize niche skills such as AI, data analytics, and cloud architecture.
Information
Companies invest in internal skilling programs
Mahapatra also noted organizations are heavily investing in internal skilling programs to bridge skill gaps, rather than solely relying on external hiring. He said there is still strong demand for AI-driven solutions, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. However, hiring in these areas is selective and skill-based.