Active tech job openings have fallen to the lowest in 28 months at 93,000 in June, marking a 14% month-on-month and 17% year-onyear decline, according to the Active Tech Jobs Outlook report from specialist staffing firm Xpheno.
Industry experts say the downturn reflects more than a cyclical pause. Traditional IT services and routine engineering roles are coming under pressure as companies embrace AI-led productivity gains and shift towards an outcome-based delivery model from billing based on the number of people working on a project.
“There’s a structural reset underway…revenue growth is getting decoupled from headcount growth,” said Nitin Bhatt, technology sector leader at EY India. This shift, he said, is likely to become more pronounced over the coming quarters.
“Clients are pushing hard on pricing, services are becoming more platform-driven, and companies are responding by rethinking their operating models. AI is enabling leading players to deliver impact with much leaner teams,” said Bhatt. “At the same time, there’s a strong push on rationalising the workforce, as companies are finding that despite strong intent, not every employee can be re-trained for an AI-driven future.”
Developments in the US have further affected demand for active talent in June. The Indian tech sector’s talent demand remains hyper-elastic to market uncertainties impacted by geopolitical and geo-economic events. The current low outlook for June is one such low point in a slide down driven by looming uncertainties around the H-1B programme, said Xpheno cofounder Kamal Karanth.
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