India’s job market holds firm as data centres widen demand beyond tech 

India’s job market is holding firm as investment in data-centre infrastructure creates demand across a broader range of occupations, even as hiring in several technology roles has weakened in recent months. 

Data from Indeed Hiring Lab shows that 1.3% of job postings in India mentioned data centres in August, up from 1% a year earlier and almost twice the rate recorded two years ago. The trend comes as the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence drives demand for larger computing and data infrastructure. KPMG has estimated that data centres could represent a $90 billion opportunity for India by 2035. 

The rise of AI has sparked considerable debate about how automation could reshape existing jobs. Yet, in the near term, some of its most visible employment effects could come from the infrastructure required to support AI at scale. 

“The expansion of India’s data centre capacity is creating a new layer of employment demand as businesses invest in the infrastructure required to support AI and other digital services. Importantly, this is not simply a story about more technology jobs. Data centres are complex, large-scale operations that require workers across engineering, project management, business operations and other functions. As investment matures, this broader employment impact is likely to become increasingly visible in the labour market,” said Callam Pickering, Senior Economist, APAC at Indeed. 

The composition of data-centre hiring underlines that broader demand. In FY2025-26, software development accounted for 28% of data-centre job postings, followed by IT infrastructure, operations and support at 15.6%, and IT systems and solutions at 7.1%. 

However, almost half of the roles fell outside these core technology categories. Management accounted for 9.9% of postings, while industrial engineering represented 5.8%, sales 5.2%, electrical engineering 3.6%, and project management 3.5%. 

The mix reflects the scale and complexity of modern data-centre operations, which require people to design, build, manage, operate and maintain facilities alongside the technology specialists running them. 

Overall hiring remains resilient 

India’s broader job market also showed modest improvement in August. Job postings on Indeed rose 0.2% during the month, consolidating the previous month’s gains and leaving postings 7.4% higher than a year earlier. 

While hiring activity has been volatile, the overall level remains elevated. Indian job postings were 85% above pre-pandemic levels in August, significantly higher than the corresponding levels across other Indeed markets. 

Indeed cautions that its data captures recruitment by companies and organisations in the formal economy and does not represent India’s entire labour market, where informal employment remains widespread. The platform also has a greater concentration of technology, management and sales roles. 

Still, the sustained strength of formal-sector hiring offers a window into India’s economic transition. Formal employment generally offers greater job security, clearer career progression and higher pay, making the continued expansion of formal-sector opportunities significant for the workforce. 

Healthcare leads recent hiring growth 

The strongest recent hiring gains, meanwhile, are coming from healthcare and other people-intensive occupations. 

Over the past three months, job postings increased across almost 80% of occupations. Childcare led the gains at 27%, followed by nursing at 23%, pharmacy at 20%, and physicians and surgeons at 17%. Dental roles rose 16%, while medical technician postings increased 14%. 

Technology hiring has moved in the opposite direction. IT infrastructure, operations and support postings declined 20% over the past three months, while software development fell 19%, data and analytics declined 14%, and IT systems and solutions dropped 7.6%. 

Despite these declines, technology hiring remains well above pre-pandemic levels. Its recent performance, however, has been weaker than the broader national trend. 

“The strongest recent hiring growth is coming from healthcare and other people-intensive occupations. The gains in nursing, pharmacy, childcare and medical roles point to sustained demand for services that rely on human expertise and cannot be easily substituted by technology,” added Pickering. 

For India’s employment landscape, the emerging picture is therefore broader than the technology sector alone. Data-centre investment is opening new avenues across technical and non-technical functions, while healthcare and other service-oriented sectors continue to generate demand. As data-centre capacity expands over the coming years, its employment impact could become an increasingly visible part of India’s formal job market.