Across the market, the 7–10 year experience band was the only cohort to grow, up 2 per cent month-on-month and 11 per cent year-on-year.
| Photo Credit:
India’s technology hiring story is splitting into two distinct trends. While demand for technology professionals grew 10 per cent over the past year, the IT industry’s share of fresher hiring dropped sharply from 32 per cent to 24 per cent , according to the foundit Insights Tracker (fit) for July 2026.The IT occupation index rose 10 per cent year-on-year while the IT industry index fell 6 per cent . Technology roles are increasingly being filled outside technology companies — inside banks, manufacturers, healthcare firms and global capability centers.Fresher hiring overall declined 2 per cent month-on-month and 10 per cent year-on-year. Across the market, the 7–10 year experience band was the only cohort to grow, up 2% month-on-month and 11% year-on-year.“One in four entry-level IT jobs has disappeared over the past year, even as demand for tech work has continued to grow. That gap is a choice companies are making, not a market condition. Hiring experienced talent is faster, but it is also a smaller pool to compete for. The organisations that keep hiring graduates through a slow year are investing in future capability — they’re building tomorrow’s leadership pipeline rather than competing for an increasingly expensive experienced workforce a few years down the line.” said Tarun Sinha, CEO, founditAI-led roles account for 4 per cent of all fresher hiring, up from around 1 per cent in 2025. AI adoption is creating a different mix of entry-level opportunities. Rather than hiring graduates primarily to build AI models, employers are increasingly recruiting talent to operate, validate and optimise AI systems. Operational AI roles now account for over half of entry-level AI hiring.Roles that build AI systems — AI/ML Engineers (28 per cent of AI hiring), Data Scientists (9 per cent ) and Generative AI Developers (7 per cent ) — make up 44 per cent of entry-level AI jobs. Roles that operate, validate and direct those systems — Data Analysts (24 per cent ), Prompt Engineers (12 per cent ), AI Operations (10 per cent ) and AI QA & Testing (5 per cent ) — make up 51 per cent .Fresher salariesThe shift towards specialised hiring is also reflected in fresher salaries. Two-thirds of entry-level roles are paid below ₹5 lakh per annum, concentrated in sales, customer support, operations, retail and entry-level services.At the other end, 12 per cent of fresher roles offer ₹8 lakh or more — and these cluster tightly in AI, data science, cybersecurity, semiconductor and product engineering.The pay data closes the loop on the year’s central trend: the entry door into technology has not shut, but it now opens for candidates who arrive specialised rather than for generalists hired at volume.Fresher hiring in 2026 remains heavily skewed toward lower salary bands, with 41 per cent of entry-level roles offering annual salaries between ₹3 lakh and ₹5 lakh, making it the largest hiring segment. Another 24 per cent of fresher jobs pay below ₹3 lakh per annum, meaning nearly two-thirds (65 per cent ) of entry-level hiring is concentrated below the ₹5 lakh mark. At the higher end, 23 per cent of roles offer ₹5–8 lakh, while only 9 per cent fall in the ₹8–12 lakh bracket and just 3 per cent offer salaries above ₹12 lakh per annum, underscoring that premium fresher packages remain limited to a small share of high-skill roles.The report also noted that GCCs raised their share of fresher hiring from 8 per cent to 11 per cent , the largest gain of any employer type, expanding across AI, engineering, analytics and finance operations. MNCs edged up from 26 per cent to 27 per cent .Indian corporates fell from 36 per cent to 34 per cent as hiring became more selective, and start-ups from 18 per cent to 16 per cent amid measured venture funding. MSMEs held broadly steady at 8 per cent .Published on August 6, 2026
