Xpheno, a specialist staffing company, in its 'Active Tech Jobs Outlook - April 2026' report, noted that this is a rollback of demand after the rise in January and February 2026. It also added that FY2027 is set to have the second lowest start on active tech demand over six years.

However, compared to April 2025, there has been a 7% increase.

Credit: Xpheno

Xpheno noted that the volume of active openings in the sector has remained sluggish over the last four quarters. The tech sector's current contribution to India's total active talent demand is 49%, rolling back to the sub-50% mark for the first time since December 2025.

The tech openings for April 2026 have a 42% 'freshness index', with nearly half of all openings being published or refreshed in the last two-week period. In comparison, March 2026 had a 39% freshness index, and the same period last year had a 44% freshness index. The month-on-month rise in freshness of postings is an outcome of hiring funnels getting refreshed as many employers approached the end of the fiscal year.

The openings for mid-senior posts account for 54% of all active openings and have registered a 6% drop in volume compared to the previous month. Opportunities for entry-level tech talent with up to 2 years of experience remained flat at 15K active postings in March 2026. On a YoY basis, entry-level openings showed a 11% drop.

The demand from the IT services cohort, a key consumer of talent, has shrunk 7% MoM, with a total active volume of 43K openings. On a YoY basis, the current demand from the cohort is lower by 7% compared to the demand seen a year ago in April 2025. Market conditions continue to keep India's IT services sector under stress on the talent action front, the report noted.

The active tech talent demand from the GCCs cohort at 15K accounts for 14% of total tech demand and has dropped by 21% compared to the previous month. GCCs' demand volume for active tech talent has seen a 3% YoY rise.