Tech job openings reach 18-month high of 1.23 lakh; few for freshers
Representative image: StartupStockPhotos / Pixabay
Active tech job openings in India rose to about 1.23 lakh in October 2026, an 18-month high, Xpheno data show, but only around 15,000 are entry-level roles.
What Happened
Active technology job openings in India rose to about 1.23 lakh in October 2026, the highest in 18 months, according to data from specialist staffing firm Xpheno reported this week. The count was about 17% higher than a year earlier and about 5% above September, continuing a recovery from a low point in June. But the gain is uneven: only about 15,000 of the openings are entry-level roles suited to fresh graduates, while experienced professionals account for most of the demand.
Key Facts
- Xpheno counted about 1,23,000 active tech job openings in India in October 2026, an 18-month high.
- That is roughly 17% more than in October 2025 and about 5% more than in September 2026.
- IT services companies accounted for about 66,000 openings, up about 57% from a year earlier, and led the rebound.
- Entry-level openings were about 15,000, roughly one in eight of the total; they fell about 6% from September but were about 15% higher than a year earlier.
- Mid-level and senior roles made up the larger share of demand.
- The recovery follows a sharp slump earlier in the year: in June 2026, Xpheno put active tech openings at a 28-month low of about 93,000.
Why It Matters
"Active openings" are job advertisements that are live on major job portals and company sites at a point in time. They do not show how many people were finally hired, but they are a useful early signal of whether employers are expanding or holding back. A rise from about 93,000 in June to about 1.23 lakh in October means tech employers advertised roughly 30,000 more vacancies within four months.
The bigger story is who those jobs are for. Indian IT has for decades hired large batches of fresh engineering graduates and trained them on the job. That model is under pressure as artificial intelligence takes over some routine coding, testing and support tasks that juniors used to do, and as clients pay for outcomes rather than hours. The October data fit that picture: employers are recruiting again, but they want people who can be productive from day one, especially in AI engineering, data and technical leadership.
For a student or recent graduate, the numbers carry both good and hard news. The good: entry-level openings are higher than a year ago. The hard: those roles are a small slice of the market, so competition for each one is intense, and recruiters increasingly look for proof of skills, such as projects, internships, certifications or open-source work, rather than a degree alone.
The rebound being led by IT services, rather than only by global capability centres (the in-house technology hubs that multinational companies run in India), also suggests that the big outsourcing firms are again winning work, after a long period of cautious spending by their clients.
| Measure | October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Active tech openings | About 1.23 lakh |
| Change from a year earlier | Up about 17% |
| Change from September | Up about 5% |
| IT services openings | About 66,000, up about 57% on the year |
| Entry-level openings | About 15,000 |
Impact
Short-term: Experienced engineers, especially those with AI, data and cloud skills, are likely to see more calls from recruiters and more room to negotiate. Freshers face a crowded field for a limited number of openings in the months before the next campus season.
Long-term: If the pattern of strong senior demand and thin entry-level demand lasts, the traditional route of joining a large IT firm straight out of college will narrow, and more young people will need to build skills through internships, apprenticeships, start-ups or self-directed projects before their first full-time job.
Who is affected: Engineering and computer science students, recent graduates, mid-career IT professionals looking to move, IT services companies, colleges and training institutes that prepare students for tech jobs.
Key Takeaway
Tech job openings in India reached an 18-month high of about 1.23 lakh in October, but with only about 15,000 entry-level roles, the recovery favours experienced professionals over freshers.
Questions and Answers
How many tech jobs are open in India in October 2026?
About 1.23 lakh active tech job openings, according to Xpheno's data for October 2026. That is the highest in 18 months, about 17% higher than a year earlier and about 5% above September.
Are there more jobs for freshers now?
Slightly more than a year ago, but not many. Entry-level openings were about 15,000, roughly one in eight of all tech openings, and they fell about 6% from September.
Which part of the tech industry is hiring most?
IT services companies, with about 66,000 openings in October, around 57% more than a year earlier, according to the data.
What should a fresh graduate do to improve their chances?
With most openings aimed at experienced people, freshers can strengthen applications by showing practical skills: completed projects, internships, recognised certifications in areas such as AI, data or cloud, and contributions to open-source code. Applying through official company career pages and campus drives also helps avoid fake job offers.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
Reported, fact-checked and published by the Peepals Global Editorial Team.
