Tech job openings hit 18-month high of 1.23 lakh, but freshers get only 15,000

India had about 1.23 lakh active technology job openings in October 2026, the highest level in 18 months, according to the Active Tech Jobs Outlook from specialist staffing firm Xpheno, reported on Friday, 9 October 2026. The count is about 17% higher than a year ago and marks a recovery from a slump earlier this year. But most of the demand is for experienced professionals: only about 15,000 openings are for entry-level candidates, while roles for mid-senior professionals make up more than half the total.

After a long slowdown in tech hiring, a return to an 18-month high is a meaningful signal. The sharp rise in openings at IT services companies suggests that the firms that hire most of India's engineering graduates are advertising for more people again after a weak stretch, when openings fell to their lowest level in more than two years.

The detail inside the number matters more for job seekers than the headline. More than half the openings are for mid-senior professionals, and only around one in eight is for entry-level candidates. For fresh graduates, that means the market is improving, but slowly, and competition for each fresher role remains intense. The numbers suggest employers prefer people who can be productive from day one.

The work-mode split is also clear. Four in five openings expect people in the office, and fully remote jobs are a small slice. Candidates hoping for remote-first roles will find far fewer choices than in the years after the pandemic. Location still matters too, with Bengaluru alone accounting for roughly a quarter of all openings.

Two cautions apply. These are job postings, not confirmed hires: a company may advertise a role and fill it slowly, or not at all. And a single month's data can move with seasonal hiring cycles, so the trend over the next few months will show whether the recovery holds.

Short-term: Experienced engineers, especially those with in-demand skills, have more options and some bargaining power. Freshers face a tight market but slightly better odds than a year ago.

Long-term: If IT services and GCCs keep adding roles, campus hiring for the 2027 batch could improve. If demand stays focused on experience, the gap between what graduates offer and what employers want will remain a challenge for colleges and skilling programmes.

Who is affected: Tech professionals planning a job change, final-year engineering and computer science students, recent graduates, recruiters and training institutes.

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