AI Drives 30% Drop in Indian IT Hiring

A study by FindMyCollege reveals that artificial intelligence is fundamentally restructuring the Indian IT job market, resulting in a 30.2% contraction in total hirings between early 2024 and early 2026. The shift has most heavily impacted mid-level roles for engineers with three to five years of experience, which saw an 11 percentage point drop in market share as employers substitute these roles with juniors for rote tasks.

While the overall job inventory has declined, specific sectors are expanding. The Data Analytics and AI category grew by 46%, although AI-native roles still represent only 6.5% of the total market. This restructuring has created a bifurcated salary landscape where entry-level pay has fallen by 19% to a median of 2.62 LPA.

Conversely, compensation has increased for senior skills and high-demand technical stacks, including cloud and data orchestration. The findings suggest a squeezing of the traditional IT career ladder, requiring graduates to pursue faster specialization and constant upskilling to reach senior pay bands, which can reach a median of 25 LPA after ten years of experience.