India’s active tech job openings reach 18-month high in Oct | India Business News

Active tech demand rose 5% month-on-month and 17% year-on-year in October, with IT services firms driving the recovery

Bengaluru: India’s active technology job market climbed to an 18-month high of 1.2 lakh openings in October, extending a four-month recovery from the record low seen in June, according to staffing firm Xpheno’s Active Tech Jobs Outlook.Active tech demand rose 5% month-on-month and 17% year-on-year in October, with IT services firms driving the recovery. Active openings in the segment rose 16% sequentially to 66,000, up 57% from October 2025. October demand was the segment’s highest in 18 months.GCC tech hiring remained unchanged from September at 18,000 openings but was up 64% year-on-year, accounting for about 15% of overall active tech demand.The recovery was concentrated in experienced talent. Mid-senior positions accounted for 68,000 openings, or 55% of the total, rising 6% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year. Entry-level openings fell 6% sequentially to 15,000, although they were 15% higher than a year earlier. Mid-junior openings rose 40% month-on-month to 7,000.The report also points to a sharp shift towards office-based work. Full-time work-from-office openings reached 1 lakh, accounting for 81% of active tech jobs, up 9% month-on-month and 32% year-on-year. Full-time remote jobs fell 9% sequentially and 23% year-on-year to 10,000, while hybrid openings declined 7% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year to 13,000.The overall pool was also becoming fresher. Xpheno’s freshness index, which measures openings published or refreshed in the preceding two weeks, stood at 49%, up three percentage points from September and six percentage points from October 2025.Full-time roles remained dominant, with 93,000 openings, or 76% of total demand, up 3% month-on-month and 11% year-on-year. Contract positions rose 33% sequentially to 4,000, while internship and part-time openings also increased 33% to 4,000, up 95% year-on-year.Core tech and engineering remained the largest functional category, with 61,000 openings, about half of total demand. The category grew 5% month-on-month and 2% year-on-year. Tech business development, sales and marketing accounted for 14,000 openings, while tech consulting and advisory had 5,000 openings, up 25% sequentially.India’s six major technology hubs accounted for 83,000 openings, or 67% of active demand, up 9% month-on-month. Hyderabad recorded the sharpest increase among major cities at 27%, followed by Mumbai at 20%, Chennai at 14% and Bengaluru at 11%. Bengaluru remained the largest market with 31,000 openings.At the same time, tier-2 and tier-3 locations accounted for 40,000 openings. While demand fell 2% month-on-month, it was up 67% year-on-year, pointing to a substantial expansion of tech hiring beyond major hubs.The report tracks active openings published or refreshed by employers and accepting applications during the reporting period, excluding hiring mandates and openings routed through recruitment and staffing agencies.