Resurgence in job demand in IT sector with 16% increase in 2025, GCCs mark strongest growth: Report

New Delhi [India], December 22 (ANI): India's IT (Information Technology) hiring has seen resurgence in 2025 with 1.8 million job demand, registering a 16% rise over 2024 and reflecting renewed tech investment, said a report by Quess Corp.
The report highlighted that the mid-level professionals (4-10 years) form 65% of 2025 demand, up from 50% in 2024. Entry-level hiring has shrunk to 15% as firms prioritizes productivity-ready talent. Leadership and expert roles, though small in volume, are growing steadily.
In terms of geographical concentration, the report said 88-90% of IT hiring remains concentrated in Tier-1 metros while Tier-2/3 cities account for 10-12%, with marginal gains during the 2024 slowdown, it said.
"Ahmedabad, Kochi, Jaipur, and Coimbatore are leading secondary hubs."
Since 2024, the demand for AI/ML, cloud, and cybersecurity has risen 30-42%. These far outpace core development, which grows modestly. Legacy skills now make up less than 10% of demand and continue to decline, the report said.
Another key highlight of the report was that the Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have increased share of demand from around 15% in 2024 to approximately 27% in 2025, marking the strongest growth among all segments as global enterprises expand innovation and engineering centers in India.
Among the largest centers, 77 hubs operate within the 5,000-20,000 employee range, forming the backbone of India's advanced engineering ecosystem, the report said.
Product and SaaS organizations have grown by about 15% since 2024, supported by renewed investments in AI, cloud and digital platforms.
Startup hiring shows a 10-20% decline from 2023-24 levels due to funding moderation and more selective scaling.
"Late 2025 indicates early signs of improvement, particularly among AI-first and fintech models, although the segment remains a smaller share of overall demand," the report said.
Mid-career professionals are the most sought-after talent segment in 2025. "These individuals combine advanced technical skills with enough industry experience to be productive quickly, making them highly valuable for fastpaced digital projects," the report said.
At the same time, hiring for leadership and niche expert roles has increased in absolute terms as firms invest in senior talent to lead new capability-building.
India's IT hiring remains heavily concentrated in a few major metropolitan hubs. Bangalore leads by a wide margin, followed by other key hubs like Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, and the Delhi NCR region.
In terms of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the report said 2025 marks the arrival of several AI-era job titles that barely existed three to five years ago. These are being created by BFSI, GCCs, IT services, and digital-native firms.
Hybrid work is the biggest gainer. Remote hiring is stable and growing- largely used for niche AI or cloud roles where talent density is outside Tier-1 cities.
The report further said AI-centric skill clusters now anchor India's technology demand. Combination of Cloud, AI, and Cybersecurity together account for more than 46% of all incremental job creation between 2024-2025. (ANI)