The number of graduate IT engineers in India who are expected to be recruited for placement by IT companies range between 70,000 to 80,000 by the end of the financial year, marking the lowest recruitment figures in over twenty years reports the Times of India, citing a report by the Economic Times (paywall) with data from staffing firms. Estimates from staffing firms suggest that less than 10% of the anticipated 1.5 million engineering graduates from various campuses this summer will secure job placements. IT companies hired a record-breaking 600,000 fresh graduates during the peak of the technology services boom in fiscal 2022.

While the numbers declined, fresher hiring stood at 250,000 in 2023, signalling the onset of a notable downturn in new recruitments. The ebbing impact of Covid-19 and escalating geopolitical tensions in regions like Ukraine and Israel, prompted Indian IT providers to scale back their recruitment efforts for fresh talent. While leading IT firms such as Infosys and Wipro are expected to abstain from campus hiring for the second consecutive year, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced plans to hire fewer freshers. Meanwhile, tier-2 colleges, which heavily rely on IT services for placements, are anticipated to bear the brunt of this decline, with offers estimated to decrease by more than half.