New Delhi: Indian employers report an extremely strong job market in India in the first quarter of 2026, with organisations increasingly willing to invest in skills, technology, and talent, a report said on Tuesday.

The report by ManpowerGroup India, based on a survey of 3,051 employers across India during October 2025, revealed a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 52 per cent, underscoring a strategic shift toward quality over volume.

The report noted that a faster-than-expected growth rate of the Indian economy is due to a favourable monsoon that drove rural demand and lower oil prices, minimal impact of the US tariffs, and reforms in the banking sector, which enabled easier access to foreign loans, supporting company growth and job creation.

Meanwhile, efforts have been ramped up to internalise the Indian rupee for cross-border trade, aiming to decrease dependence on US dollars, which will ultimately benefit the economy in the long term.

Given these metrics, Indian employers’ hiring sentiment looks optimistic for the near term, stated the report.

“India’s hiring outlook is not just strong - it is signaling a new phase of economic confidence and capability-building. What these trends truly reflect is India’s transition from volume-led hiring to value creation: organisations are investing in the skills, technologies, and talent architectures that will define their competitiveness over the next decade,” said Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India and Middle East.

The report noted a demand in sectors such as finance, professional services, manufacturing, and real estate, indicative of “employers actively preparing for a more digital, regulated, and innovation-driven economy”, Gulati said.

“As we move into 2026, India will shape its talent market around three fundamentals: critical skills, technological leverage, and purposeful expansion," said Gulati.

Further, the report noted that Indian employers in all nine sectors anticipate increasing staffing levels in Q1 2026.

A majority of employers (63 per cent) anticipate an increase in hiring, while 24 per cent expect to maintain current staffing levels, 11 per cent anticipate a decrease, and 2 per cent are unsure.

Despite a positive outlook over the past year, hiring volumes have declined.

In Q1 2026, a typical company’s total workforce is expected to grow by 65 workers - a 60 per cent drop since we began tracking in Q2 2025, when the figure stood at 162.