Indian job postings on Indeed rose 1.6% in February 2026, consolidating a run of strong gains to stand 7.0% higher than a year ago. Postings now sit 87% above pre-pandemic levels - a testament to the transformation underway in India’s labour market, even as they remain 14% below their January 2023 peak.
Callam Pickering, Senior Economist, Indeed APAC said, “Indian job postings continued to recover in February, consolidating strong gains towards the end of last year. India appears to be creating more than enough jobs to support their ongoing economic transformation, with the unemployment rate at 5% in February. “
Pickering added, “The Indian economy will face some stiff economic headwinds this year as the conflict in the Middle East triggers higher inflation and increased caution from households and businesses alike." But with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, India is relatively well placed to absorb that hit.
As India’s workforce gradually transitions towards formal employment, job creation in the formal sector continues to outpace overall employment growth. This structural shift has helped India outperform other Indeed markets during both the post-pandemic hiring surge and the subsequent slowdown.
Broad-based hiring continues, but demand remains selective
Hiring growth remains widespread, with job postings increasing in nearly three-quarters of occupations over the past three months. This reflects sustained momentum across January and February.
The strongest gains were seen in: IT infrastructure, operations & support (+32%), Mechanical engineering (+30%), Logistic support (+30%), and Pharmacy (+15%). In contrast, some sectors saw declines: Community & social service (-14.6%), Beauty & wellness (-5.9%), Administrative assistance (-5.6%), and Childcare (-5.3%).
This divergence suggests that while hiring is expanding overall, demand continues to be concentrated in roles that directly support operations, infrastructure, and delivery.
Remote work stabilises, but sector-level shifts continue
Remote work trends remained stable over the past year, indicating that flexibility has settled into a steady pattern within India’s formal job market. In February, 8.9% of job postings mentioned terms such as “work from home” or “work remotely”, broadly unchanged from 9 % a year ago. This is an improvement from the post-pandemic low of 7.2% seen in mid-2024.
Remote opportunities were most common in: Social science (17.9%), Community & social service (14.7%), and IT infrastructure, operations & support (14.3%). While the overall share has remained steady, occupational variations persist. Compared to a year ago, the share of remote postings increased most in Social science (+7.7 pp), sports (+5.2 pp), and insurance (+3.9 pp), while declining in Software development (-3.0 pp) and medical information (-2.4 pp).
Changes in remote job share may reflect evolving employer preferences around return-to-office mandates, as well as efforts to attract talent in a competitive market.
Outlook remains steady despite global pressures
Indian job postings continued their recovery in February. The labour market appears robust enough to support India’s broader economic transformation, with unemployment at 5% in February.
While global headwinds such as geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures may weigh on sentiment, India’s position as one of the fastest-growing major economies leaves it relatively well placed to absorb these challenges.
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