● Overall fresher hiring intent rises by 2% to 75% in HY2 2026, led by Retail (93%), E-commerce & Technology Start-ups (93%), and Manufacturing (89%)
● One in three industries including IT, Consulting, Telecom, Marketing & Advertising, Media & Entertainment, and Educational Services see hiring intent decline compared to HY1 2026
● Top 5 in-demand fresher roles: AI Application Developer, Jr. Semiconductor Design Engineer, Data Centre Operations Associate, Programmatic Advertising Associate, and Inventory & Dispatch Executive
● Bangalore (89%), Mumbai (75%), and Chennai (71%) remain the top cities driving entry-level hiring intent
Mumbai: India's fresher hiring outlook has strengthened in HY2 2026, with overall hiring intent rising to 75%, up from 73% in HY 1 2026, according to TeamLease EdTech's Career Outlook Report, HY2 (July–December 2026). The growth reflects sustained employer demand for entry-level talent, led by Retail, E-commerce & Technology Start-ups, and Manufacturing. These sectors together continue to anchor the country's fresher hiring momentum.
However, this recovery is not uniform across industries. Compared to HY1 2026, fresher hiring intent has declined in IT, and is down to 76% from 81%, while Consulting, Telecom, and Marketing & Advertising each dropped by 3 %, and Media & Entertainment and Educational Services each declined by 2%. This indicates roughly one in three industries tracked in the report scaled back on their fresher hiring plans even as the national outlook improved.
Speaking on the findings, Shantanu Rooj, Founder & CEO, TeamLease EdTech, said, "What we're seeing this second half of the year is less about how many freshers get hired, and more about which freshers get hired. Sectors like Retail, E-commerce, and Manufacturing are scaling up because they're finding candidates who arrive with practical, job-ready skills, not just a degree. IT and Consulting, on the other hand, are being more selective precisely because the skill bar has moved: employers in these sectors now expect freshers to show AI fluency, applied problem-solving, and hands-on project experience from day one, not capabilities they'll build on the job. This shift is exactly why we believe skilling can no longer be an afterthought to education; it needs to be embedded into how freshers learn, right from the classroom, so they're equipped for the roles that are actually growing, not just the ones they hoped for."
Geographically, Bangalore continues to lead fresher hiring intent at 89%, followed by Mumbai (75%) and Chennai (71%), together accounting for a significant share of India's entry-level hiring activity. Among job roles, AI Application Developer, Jr. Semiconductor Design Engineer, Data Centre Operations Associate, Programmatic Advertising Associate, and Inventory & Dispatch Executive emerge as the most in-demand fresher roles in HY2.
To strengthen their employability amid this more selective hiring environment, freshers are increasingly turning to skill-first certifications. The report identifies Certification in VLSI Chip Design, AI Engineering, Cloud Security, Digital Marketing Analytics, and Good Manufacturing Practices as the top in-demand courses in the second half of the year, each aligned closely with the skill sets employers are prioritising in their hiring decisions.
Methodology:
TeamLease EdTech's Career Outlook Report, HY2 (July–December 2026), is based on responses from 1,097 companies collected between May and July 2026 across industries and cities in India. The study examines hiring intent among fresher candidates, in-demand job roles, required skills, and emerging hiring models, providing actionable insights for first-time jobseekers navigating the July–December 2026 employment market.
About TeamLease EdTech
TeamLease EdTech is India's leading Learning and Employability solutions company. It helps Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) launch, run, and manage their own Online Programs, improve the employability of their students through their apprenticeship programs, and helps employers build talent supply chains, along with improving employee productivity. TeamLease EdTech has exclusive partnerships with over 70 of India's largest Universities and Premier Institutions across 16 Indian states, and it trains 7 Lakh students on its platform through 9 Indian languages, and works with 2200 corporates in their upskilling/skilling initiatives.
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