India’s white-collar job market pulled back in March 2026. The foundit Hiring Index declined 5% month-on-month, moving from 404 in February to 385 in March — a measured pause following two consecutive months of positive momentum.
On a year-on-year basis, hiring grew 1%, with the index rising marginally from 381 in March 2025 to 385 in March 2026. The three-month reading stands flat at 0%, while the six-month horizon holds at +7%. The moderation is consistent with seasonal patterns in this period, as organisations conclude annual planning cycles and carry hiring decisions into the new financial year.
Industry Hiring Trends: Manufacturing and Healthcare Outperform; Trade-Linked Sectors Retreat
12 out of 27 industries recorded a surge in recruitment over the past year, with domestic consumption sectors outperforming those exposed to global trade pressures.
Manufacturing was the standout sector in March at +9% MoM — the strongest gain of any major sector — as GCC-linked industrial demand and domestic capacity expansion drove hiring. At +3% YoY, the annual number looks modest, but the monthly acceleration points to momentum the annual figure doesn’t yet fully reflect.
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals added +5% MoM, one of the few sectors to post active gains in a broadly soft month. Demand is coming from analytics, health-tech operations, and supply chain roles. At +26% YoY, the annual trajectory confirms the sector’s consistent growth.
Non-profit Organisations led annual growth at +27% YoY and +16% MoM, while Real Estate (+19% YoY, +2% MoM) and FMCG (+21% YoY, 0% MoM) continued their strong longer-term trajectories.
Travel & Tourism saw the sharpest MoM correction at -16%, though the sector remains +16% YoY. March’s pullback follows an unusually high hiring base in preceding months — the annual direction has not reversed.
IT – Software & Services declined 9% YoY and 5% MoM, though the monthly dip appears to be stabilising rather than accelerating. BFSI fell 12% YoY and 1% MoM. Trade-linked sectors continued under pressure, with Import & Export down 17% YoY and 8% MoM, Logistics & Transportation -13% YoY, and Chemicals & Plastics -14% YoY.
Functional Hiring Trends: Legal and Marketing Lead; IT Holds Annual Dominance
6 of 13 functional areas recorded positive year-on-year hiring growth in March.
IT retained its position as the highest annual growth function at +46% YoY, despite a 4% MoM dip. Organisations are filling roles selectively and in concentrated bursts, with demand shifting from traditional software development toward AI engineering, data platform roles, and cybersecurity.
Marketing & Communications posted +6% MoM and +18% YoY — the function with the most coherent growth story in March, positive on both timeframes. Performance marketing, content strategy, and digital commerce roles are driving volume.
Legal recorded +9% MoM, the strongest monthly growth of any function, driven by regulatory complexity across BFSI, healthcare, and data privacy generating sustained demand for compliance, contracts, and risk counsel.
Engineering & Production grew +8% MoM against -5% YoY, mirroring the manufacturing sector’s monthly momentum. Senior Management posted the steepest MoM decline at -7%, though it remains +23% YoY. Medical Roles held flat month-on-month at 0% while continuing their strong annual trajectory at +24% YoY.
Experience Level Trends: Mid-Senior and Senior Talent Drive Annual Growth
The 7–10 year cohort recorded the strongest year-on-year growth at +13%, driven by structural demand for professionals who can manage teams, own deliverables, and navigate complexity — precisely what project-based and gig hiring models demand.
Professionals with more than 15 years of experience saw +12% YoY growth as organisations building new verticals or navigating digital transformation increasingly prefer a senior hire on defined terms over a permanent appointment that locks in both cost and direction.
The 11–15 year band grew +6% YoY, while entry-level hiring (0–3 years) contracted marginally at -2% YoY, as companies tightened graduate intake in favour of roles that deliver faster productivity. The 4–6 year cohort was flat at 0% YoY.
Month-on-month, the mid-senior (7–10 years) and most senior (>15 years) cohorts were the only experience bands to record growth, at +1% and +2% respectively, while entry-level (-4%) and associate-level (-3%) saw the sharpest sequential declines.
City-wise Trends: South and West Outperform; North Markets Stay Under Pressure
Hyderabad and Ahmedabad led year-on-year growth at +8% each, followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru at +7% YoY. Both Hyderabad and Bengaluru were flat month-on-month at 0%, while Mumbai slipped 2% MoM. Ahmedabad posted the only meaningful positive MoM reading among tracked metros at +1%.
Kolkata recorded the steepest MoM decline at -4% and fell 14% YoY — the weakest annual performance among tracked cities. Delhi-NCR declined 7% YoY and 1% MoM, continuing its underperformance relative to southern and western markets.
At the city-function level, Pune emerged as the standout Finance & Accounting market, while Bengaluru and Mumbai showed steady gains — pointing to sustained GCC and captive finance expansion in India’s top three hiring cities. Delhi-NCR led IT function growth at +6% MoM, bucking broad declines in Bengaluru (-5%), Chennai (-5%), and Hyderabad (-3%). BPO contracted across the board, with Chennai (-5%), Delhi-NCR (-4%), and Bengaluru (-3%) all declining MoM. Manufacturing recovery was concentrated in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, both +4% MoM.
Special Focus: India’s White-Collar Gig Market Crosses 8 Million Jobs
While permanent hiring moderated in March, India’s white-collar gig market continued its structural expansion, reaching 8.23 million jobs in FY26 — up 21% year-on-year from 6.8 million in FY25. At the projected 24% growth rate, the market crosses 10.2 million by FY27.
Project-based hiring grew 33% in FY26 and is forecast to become the mainstream model by FY27. March’s index dip is, in this context, less a contraction than a reallocation — organisations are not pulling back from talent; they are changing how they access it.
Enterprises are leading gig demand. MNCs and large enterprises account for 42% of gig jobs in FY26, followed by startups (32%) and mid-size companies (26%). Enterprise gig hiring is also the fastest-growing segment, with a growth trajectory rising from 18.6% to 23.7% and a 31% FY27 forecast.
Remote and hybrid gig work is accelerating. Fully remote gig roles grew from 34% in FY25 to 39% in FY26, with a forecast of 45% by FY27. Hybrid arrangements rose from 22% to 25% over the same period, reflecting the structural normalisation of flexible work models.
Data and AI roles dominate gig demand. 49% of gig roles in FY26 were in Data/AI/ML — up from 42% in FY25 and forecast to reach 59% by FY27. Technology (Dev/Cloud) accounts for 23% of gig demand, with Product/Consulting (21%) and Finance/Risk (16%) also growing. No other function category is scaling at anything close to this pace.
Manufacturing/GCCs lead industry gig growth. At 21% gig growth in FY26, Manufacturing/GCCs leads all sectors with a 29% FY27 forecast — overtaking IT/Tech (27%) and BFSI (25%) — driven by industrial capacity expansion and capability centre demand.
The experience premium is widening. Senior gig talent (15+ years) is the fastest-scaling cohort, with growth going from 15% in FY25 to a projected 35% in FY27. The gap between entry-level and senior cohorts was just 1 percentage point in FY25; by FY27 that gap reaches 14 points.
Tier-2 cities are the next growth frontier. At 31% in FY26 and a 39% FY27 forecast, Tier-2 cities are outpacing every metro in gig growth. Bengaluru (24% FY26, 28% forecast) and Tier-1 cities like Hyderabad and Pune (24% FY26, 29% forecast) follow. Cities like Coimbatore, Vadodara, Kochi, and Indore are emerging as distinct gig talent pools — strong in IT services, analytics, engineering, and digital marketing respectively.
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