NEW DELHI: Looks like while the hiring door is narrowing, AI talent still has a VIP pass. India’s technology sector may be tightening recruitment, but companies are continuing to double down on artificial intelligence, making specialist AI talent one of the few bright spots in an otherwise subdued hiring market.
According to Naukri’s JobSpeak report for June, AI-related hiring in the IT sector rose 16 per cent year-on-year, even as overall IT recruitment declined 3 per cent over the same period. The report analysed job listings from more than 150,000 companies on the recruitment platform.
The divergence reflects a significant shift in hiring priorities as India’s $315 billion IT industry grapples with slower technology spending from global clients while simultaneously accelerating investments in artificial intelligence capabilities.
Info Edge CEO Hitesh Oberoi which owns Naukri said the widening gap between AI hiring and broader IT recruitment highlights where companies are choosing to invest despite a cautious business environment.
According to Oberoi, artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving from an emerging technology into a core business capability, with demand increasingly focused on experienced professionals possessing specialised AI expertise rather than general technology skills. The trend comes amid broader structural changes across India’s IT industry. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently indicated that hiring is expected to slow further as companies reshape their workforce models around AI adoption.
The company has also signalled its intention to move towards a workforce comprising an equal mix of human employees and AI agents. TCS had cut more than 12,000 jobs in July last year, while its net headcount declined by over 23,000 during the financial year ended March 2026.
The hiring momentum extends beyond the technology sector. Naukri’s report found that AI and machine learning recruitment across 14 industries increased 25 per cent year-on-year in June, with the insurance and consumer goods sectors recording the strongest growth.
The figures suggest that while companies remain cautious about overall recruitment in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, investments in AI talent continue to gather pace as businesses across sectors race to build capabilities for the next phase of digital transformation.
