Hiring Trends in India 2026: six numbers to plan around.

India’s job market spent 2025 in single digits. It is not there anymore. According to the India Decoding Jobs 2026 report by Taggd and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), overall hiring intent has climbed to 11 percent for 2026, up from 9.75 percent the year before. The report draws on more than 300 talent leaders across 21 industries.

The headline is only the start. What has changed is the shape of hiring. These are the six numbers worth building into your 2026 manpower plan.

1. BFSI is hiring hardest, at 20 percent intent

Banking, financial services and insurance leads every sector in the Taggd and CII data. Digital lending, payments infrastructure, fintech expansion, compliance and cybersecurity are driving demand.

Credit and risk, collections, compliance, product management and engineering roles are moving. Fintechs and NBFCs are competing with banks that can pay more and startups that can move faster. Core industries follow at around 12 percent intent, backed by capex and domestic capacity expansion.

2. Four in ten hires are new roles, not backfills

Nearly four in ten planned hires are newly created positions, up from roughly two in ten the year before. These searches lack an incumbent benchmark, a proven job description and often a clear salary band.

3. 2026 is an experienced-talent year

Candidates with 6 to 15-plus years of experience are projected to make up 55 percent of hires, against 39 percent last year. The 6 to 10-year band rises to 28 percent, 11 to 15 years to 15 percent, and 15-plus years to 12 percent.

Senior candidates are typically passive, employed and unlikely to apply to a job post. Employers need direct search, a credible role story and a fast process.

4. Sixty percent of recruiters screen resumes with AI

The report finds 60 percent of recruiters using AI for resume screening and 45 percent for interview automation. Candidates now write resumes for machines, so keyword matching alone is no longer a reliable fit signal.

AI compresses initial screening but does not solve slow interview calendars, feedback delays or offer drop-offs. Meanwhile, GenAI, cloud, cybersecurity, AI and ML engineering, solutions architecture and data skills remain highly sought after.

5. Thirty-two percent of hiring has moved to tier-2 cities

Roughly 32 percent of hiring is happening in tier-2 cities and 20 percent in tier-3. The cost advantage is narrowing: Pune, Ahmedabad and Indore are seeing annual compensation inflation of 15 to 20 percent.

Teams building outside the metros should move while the economics still work. Delhi NCR employers should also expect candidates to compare offers against lower-cost cities.

6. Manufacturing is the quiet outperformer

foundit’s March 2026 tracker put manufacturing at the top of monthly sector gains at 9 percent month on month, driven by GCC-linked industrial demand and domestic capacity expansion.

Plant leadership, quality, maintenance and R&D talent is geographically sticky. For employers, this makes the search a relocation negotiation as much as a skills match. Hire Route supports specialist hiring across manufacturing, BFSI, IT and other industries.

What to change in your hiring plan

• Budget for search, not only posting. Experienced and passive candidates need to be approached.
• Fix the interview stage first. Scheduling and feedback delays now cost more candidates than sourcing.
• Write bands before JDs. New roles and rising compensation make vague budgets expensive.
• Assume competing processes. For senior talent, speed is a differentiator.

Frequently asked questions