India eyes 3.8 lakh AI-linked roles in 2026 as hiring set to grow 32%

Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence (AI) shaped hiring trends across India in 2025, with 290,256 AI-related vacancies listed during the year, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The pace of recruitment is expected to rise further, with AI hiring forecast to grow by 32 per cent year-on-year in 2026, taking total roles close to 3.8 lakh, the foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME) report stated.

India’s employment landscape ended 2025 on a positive note, recording steady hiring activity across industries, job profiles and cities.

Hiring activity rose 5 per cent month-on-month and 15 per cent (on-year), signalling a clear shift from cautious recovery to measured expansion.

"2025 was both a year of expansion and discipline in hiring," said Tarun Sharma, Chief Product and Technology officer, foundit.

AI is no longer experimental; it is central to workforce planning. In 2026, hiring will be increasingly skills-led, mid-career-focused, and spread across both Tier 1 and emerging Tier 2 talent hubs, he mentioned.

This convergence of core industries and AI adoption will continue to position India as a global talent powerhouse.

IT-Software and Services held the largest share of AI jobs at 37 per cent, followed by BFSI (15.8 per cent) and Manufacturing (6 per cent).

BFSI recorded 41 per cent YoY growth, while Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (38 per cent), Retail (31 per cent), Logistics (30 per cent), and Telecom (29 per cent) posted strong gains, said the report.

Generative AI and LLM skills showed the fastest growth, with demand rising nearly 60 per cent YoY -- driven by copilots, chatbots, and enterprise GenAI platforms.

Bengaluru retained leadership with a 26 per cent share of AI jobs. Hyderabad recorded the fastest Tier 1 growth, while Jaipur, Indore and Mysuru led Tier 2 gains.

The general job market in 2025 showed the strongest growth in the mid-level and senior mid-tier brackets, indicating employer focus on professionals with proven execution experience — but not at the highest leadership level, said the report.

IANS