The information technology industry’s share in the white-collar jobs market in India dropped below 50% for the first time in three years in October, as companies remained cautious on recruitment amid rising risk of recession and high inflation in their key markets, reports The Economic Times, citing data from LinkedIn and job boards of several top companies, put together for the Economic Times by staffing firm Xpheno.

“The tech sector continues to hold back their hiring plans under the threat of recession, rising inflation and dropping global tech spends,” said Anil Ethanur, co-founder, Xpheno. “Large tech enterprises reviewing and aligning their hiring plans for the rest of fiscal year is also a key factor in this shift in the sector’s position.” Hiring action in the IT services sector, the largest contributor to the tech industry, remained dull with a 14% month-on-month drop in volume in October as the sector registered its lowest count over a 22-month period, closing at 60,000 active openings. Meanwhile, the total number of active job openings in the white-collar employment market, meanwhile, rose for the first time in five months to 225,000 in October from 210,000 the previous month.