Technology job openings in India rose 9% month-on-month in March, reaching their highest level in more than three quarters, signalling a short-term uptick in hiring even as concerns around artificial intelligence continue to weigh on the sector’s outlook.
Active technology job listings climbed to around 119,000 in March, marking the second consecutive monthly increase after a 6% rise in February, according to the Active Tech Jobs Outlook – India for March 2026 report released by talent solutions firm Xpheno. The data was cited in a report by the Economic Times.
Despite the recent rise, hiring demand remains subdued compared with last year. Active demand for technology jobs is still about 19% lower on a year-on-year basis, underlining the broader slowdown that has persisted since the latter half of 2022.
Budget utilisation driving hiring
According to Kamal Karanth, cofounder of Xpheno, an increase in hiring activity during the January–March period is usually linked either to companies anticipating stronger demand in the upcoming financial year or to the release of unused recruitment budgets from the current fiscal.
Under current conditions, the latter appears more likely. “With FY2026 set to close as a slow and low hiring fiscal, some of the unutilised hiring budgets are being deployed in the market,” Karanth told the Economic Times.
Shift towards non-tech roles
Karanth also noted that the growing impact of artificial intelligence on technology and engineering roles has led many enterprises to focus hiring on non-technical positions since January 2026.
“Openings in consulting and advisory, business development, sales and marketing, and project management have been driving demand, as enterprises wait it out for visibility on investing on tech and engineering talent intakes,” he said.
Data from the report shows that non-technology sectors currently account for 53% of the demand for technology and engineering roles. This marks a shift from the tech sector traditionally being the largest contributor to job opportunities in these roles.