India’s freshers job market shows a modest but broad-based increase, driven by sectors such as e-commerce, technology start-ups, and retail, amid rising demand for automation-related roles and city-specific hiring strength.
India’s entry-level job market is showing a modest but broad-based pickup, with a new employer survey indicating that 75% of companies plan to hire freshers in the second half of 2026, up from 73% in the previous six months. According to the latest Career Outlook Report, the strongest appetite is coming from e-commerce, technology start-ups and retail, where hiring intent reaches 93% in each case. Manufacturing follows at 89% and fast-moving consumer goods at 86%, while information technology is softer at 76%, down from 81% in the earlier period.
The report suggests that employers are not only hiring more graduates but also narrowing their search to roles tied to current business needs. AI application developers, junior semiconductor design engineers and data centre operations associates are among the positions attracting demand, reflecting the growing pull of automation, chip design and digital infrastructure. In city-level rankings, Bengaluru remains the clearest centre of fresher hiring, with an intent rate of 89%, ahead of Mumbai at 75% and Chennai at 71%.
That pattern builds on earlier reports showing that fresher hiring has been recovering through 2026 after a more cautious patch late last year. TeamLease EdTech said in its first-half 2026 outlook that nearly 73% of employers expected to recruit fresh graduates between January and June, a rise of 3 percentage points from the previous half-year. Business Standard reported that the same survey found retail, e-commerce and technology start-ups leading demand, with employers increasingly favouring demonstrable skills over generic credentials.
Industry observers say the shift is being helped by India’s larger growth story, including government-backed industrial programmes, digital adoption and a stronger push into AI-enabled roles. Naukri.com has noted that campus recruitment is also broadening beyond major universities, with tier-2 and tier-3 colleges seeing stronger hiring interest. Even so, the latest figures point to an uneven recovery: companies are hiring freshers with greater confidence, but the strongest opportunities remain concentrated in sectors and cities where digital transformation is moving fastest.
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