IT fresher hiring share falls to 24% from 32%, even as overall tech recruitment grows 10% annually: Foundit July Insights Tracker

Overall demand for technology professionals increased 10% year-on-year in July but the share of fresher hiring in the IT sector fell to 24% from 32%, according to the foundit Insights Tracker for the month.

The findings indicate that technology roles are increasingly being created outside traditional IT companies—in sectors such as banking, manufacturing, healthcare and global capability centres—even as employers become more selective about entry-level hiring.

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Artificial intelligence (AI)-led roles accounted for 4% of entry-level hiring, up from about 1% a year ago, highlighting the changing profile in fresher opportunities. Almost a third of entry-level openings were internships, contracts or project work, up from about one in eight two years ago.

Overall fresher hiring declined 2% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year. Across the market, the 7-10 year experience band was the only cohort that recorded growth, up 2% month-on-month and 11% year-on-year.

“One in four entry-level IT jobs have disappeared over the past year, even as demand for tech work has continued to grow. That gap is a choice companies are making, not a market condition,” foundit CEO Tarun Sinha said in a statement.

“Hiring experienced talent is faster, but it is also a smaller pool that everyone is competing for. The organisations that keep hiring graduates through a slow year are investing in future capability—they’re building tomorrow’s leadership pipeline rather than competing for an increasingly expensive experienced workforce a few years down the line,” he added.

The share of sales & business development category in fresher hiring increased to 20% from 18%, while that of engineering & production went up to 8% from 6%, and medical roles recorded the largest growth of any function, expanding to 11% from 7%.

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Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates continued to dominate hiring, accounting for 42% of fresher hiring, reflecting sustained demand for technical capabilities. Management and commerce graduates accounted for nearly one-third of opportunities (32%), diploma and vocational candidates were at 8% and those from other educational backgrounds were at 3%. A further 15% of fresher postings did not specify a qualification at all, pointing to a gradual shift towards skills-based screening.

The shift toward specialised hiring also reflected in fresher salaries. Two-thirds of entry-level roles were paid below Rs 5 lakh per annum, concentrated in sales, customer support, operations, retail and entry-level services. At the other end, 12% of fresher roles offered at least Rs 8 lakh—and these were mostly in AI, data science, cybersecurity, semiconductor and product engineering.