India’s white-collar hiring outlook strengthens as 79% of HR leaders expect new jobs in H2 2026: Survey

New Delhi [India], August 25: India’s white-collar job market is expected to see further expansion in the second half of 2026, with 79 per cent of senior HR leaders expecting creation of new jobs and 97 per cent expecting hiring activity to continue, according to Naukri’s H2 2026 Hiring Outlook survey.

The survey, based on responses from more than 540 senior HR leaders and hiring decision-makers, showed the strongest optimism in real estate, FMCG and IT/Tech. As many as 86 per cent of HR leaders in real estate expect new job creation in H2, followed by FMCG at 85 per cent and IT/Tech at 83 per cent, up from 79 per cent in the first half.

Manufacturing and healthcare followed at 79 per cent each, while 72 per cent of BFSI HR leaders expected new roles to be created.

The hiring outlook is also expected to remain strongest for Business Development, Marketing and IT roles, with 45 per cent, 37 per cent and 31 per cent of HR leaders respectively identifying these as areas likely to see the highest recruitment.

The survey pointed to continued demand for early-career professionals. 62 per cent of HR leaders expect maximum hiring in the 0-3 years’ experience category, while 57 per cent expect strong hiring in the 4-7 years’ band. BFSI, healthcare and IT are expected to lead entry-level hiring.

AI, meanwhile, is not expected to result in significant job losses in the near term. Eighty-six per cent of HR leaders said they do not expect significant job losses due to AI, while more than 20 per cent of HR leaders in IT and BFSI expect AI to create new roles over the next six months, particularly in IT, marketing and analytics.

However, matching available skills with changing job requirements has emerged as the biggest hiring challenge, cited by 31 per cent of HR leaders. The survey said the faster emergence of new skills and shorter shelf life of existing skills are making continuous skill development increasingly important.

“With 79% of senior HR leaders predicting new job creation, the H2 2026 Hiring Outlook points to steady acceleration in India’s job market,” Hitesh Oberoi, MD & CEO, Info Edge, said.

He added that employers see AI opening new roles across sectors, while the ability to continuously build new skills would determine which organisations and professionals are best positioned for the next phase of growth.

Further, 83 per cent of HR leaders expect attrition to remain below 15 per cent over the next six months, while 58 per cent expect average salary increments to remain below 10 per cent.

Source: ANI News

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