India’s job market is showing steady recovery, but the nature of hiring is changing. New data from Indeed’s February 2026 Hiring Lab report shows that while more jobs are being created, employers are becoming more selective about where they hire.
Job postings rose 1.6% in February 2026 and are now 7% higher than a year ago. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, postings are 87% higher, indicating how significantly India’s labour market has expanded over the past few years.
However, hiring levels are still 14% below their peak in January 2023, suggesting that growth has stabilised after an earlier surge.
SHIFT TOWARDS FORMAL AND STRUCTURED EMPLOYMENT
One of the key trends highlighted in the report is the shift towards formal employment. Job creation in the organised sector is growing faster than overall employment, signalling a structural change in how India’s workforce is evolving.
According to Callam Pickering, Senior Economist at Indeed APAC, India is creating enough jobs to support its economic transformation. The unemployment rate stood at 5% in February, reflecting a relatively stable labour market.
This transition towards formal jobs is helping India perform better than many other countries, both during the post-pandemic hiring boom and the slowdown that followed.
HIRING GROWS, NUT NOT EVENLY ACROSS SECTORS
While hiring activity is increasing across most sectors, the demand is not evenly distributed. The report shows that nearly three-quarters of occupations saw a rise in job postings over the past three months, indicating broad-based growth.
However, the strongest gains were concentrated in sectors linked to operations and infrastructure. Job postings increased sharply in IT infrastructure, operations and support (+32%), mechanical engineering (+30%), logistic support (+30%), and pharmacy (+15%).
These roles are directly tied to production, supply chains, and service delivery, which are expanding as businesses scale operations.
In contrast, some sectors recorded a decline. Job postings fell in community and social service (-14.6%), beauty and wellness (-5.9%), administrative assistance (-5.6%), and childcare (-5.3%).
This divergence shows that while the job market is growing overall, hiring is becoming more targeted, with employers focusing on roles that support core business functions.
REMOTE WORK STABILISES IN INDIA
The report also highlights that remote work has reached a stable level in India. In February, 8.9% of job postings mentioned remote or work-from-home options, almost unchanged from 9% a year ago.
This marks a shift from earlier fluctuations seen after the pandemic, suggesting that hybrid work models are now settling into a consistent pattern.
Remote opportunities were highest in social science (17.9%), followed by community and social service (14.7%) and IT infrastructure, operations and support (14.3%). At the same time, some sectors such as software development saw a decline in remote job share, indicating changing employer preferences.
Despite global uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions and inflation, India’s job market remains stable. The report suggests that the country’s position as one of the fastest-growing major economies will help it absorb external shocks.