Nov 10, 2025

Some HR specialist staffing companies are witnessing an upward shift in variable pay White‑collar jobsFile photo 4 min read Copied Indian white-collar workforces may witness a salary increment of 8-11% this year. This is still a significant movement, considering the challenges such as pressure on margins and changes in manpower plans and hiring action due to geopolitical pressures and adoption of modern technology. However, Anil Ethanur, co-founder at Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm in Bengaluru, pointed out that some sectors could see a hike of 11-12%, depending on the profit margins the industry could make over the period of one year. Ethanur says, “Indian corporates, dominated by tech sector, are witnessing margin pressures and challenges due to H-1B visa restrictions and growing adoption of AI. In the last 2 years period, the active talent demand in the tech sector has rarely gone above the 1.1 lakh mark, denoting sustained headwinds in the industry.” Some HR specialist staffing companies are witnessing an upward shift in variable pay. Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO of CIEL HR, said, “This year, we expect salary increments to average around 5-7% in the slower segments, while professionals in hot-skill areas could see hikes between 10% and 15%. We’re also seeing a clear shift toward performance-linked rewards, with variable pay gaining a higher share in the overall compensation mix.” According to TeamLease’s Jobs & Salaries Primer FY 2025–26, average salary hikes across industries are expected in the 6% to 11% range, with some city- and role-specific increases reaching up to 14%. For the past three years, employees desire is to work in global capability centres (GCCs) as they a good five to six years of investment and talent deployment plan and also pay relatively well. “Earlier, it was highly desirable to work at funded start-ups because they were deep-pocketed and had liberal compensation packages. This situation has changed since late 2022. The GCCs cohort is gaining traction in terms of desirability among talent looking for employment.” The GCC sector is expected to employ over 2.8 million people by 2030, up from 1.9 million currently. Moreover, with Halting International Relocation of Employment (HIRE) Act threat looming large on the services sector, Anil expects that GCCs of American brands will also brace for potential impact of tariffs over future operations in India in the GCC route. Amid sustained uncertainties, it is fresh graduates who have been hit the hardest as most of the large enterprises have not gone to campus for the past three years. “For every 10,000 freshers hired, the industry has to set aside `400-450 crore for training and compensation expenditure. Large employers, in current market situations, do not have the budget and bandwidth to invest heavily on building the fresher talent base.” However, Mishra does not agree. He says, “Campus hiring too has picked up significantly, nearly 20-25% higher than last year. Apart from traditional large employers, tech startups have re-entered campuses, looking for fresh talent that is digitally fluent and adaptive.” Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services, said, “Companies are increasingly partnering with colleges to strengthen their future-ready talent pipelines and address skill shortages at the entry level. A clear shift toward a “train-and-absorb” model is visible, as employers are hiring freshers and equipping them through structured induction programs, short-term training modules, and on-the-job learning, ensuring they become business-ready within weeks.” Claims of artificial intelligence replacing humans in mainstream operations do not have semblance on the ground. He says, “Over the past five years, the cost-to-revenue efficiencies have remained stagnant. For every rupee that IT service firms spend on their employees, the revenue earned has remained at Rs 1.8 to Rs 1.9. This efficiency rate has not gone up, as it is expected to in an AI-enabled working model. If AI is replacing jobs & human role holders the cost-to-revenue ratio should be upwards of 2.5Rupees for every rupee spent on talent. This has not happened. In the current trajectory, it could well take another 3 to 5 years to see the real impact of AI on jobs in India.” Non-tech hiring cyclical active openings in non-tech sector collective are about 1.20lakh as of October, whereas the Tech openings has remained between 92,000 and 1 lakh throughout the current FY. However, the hiring in non-tech is cyclical. “Recruitment activity has mainly been driven by attrition linked replacement hiring or backfills as they are known. The overall recruitment volume has not been high this festive season. The festive spike in hiring happens in D2C sectors and Ecommerce, but they are primarily blue & grey collar talent. White collar recruitment has been low this festive season,” said Anil. Within non-tech sector collective, pharma, infra, telecom, energy, travel and tourism are primarily driving employment opportunity in the country. Mishra says, “We’re witnessing robust activity in E-commerce, retail, manufacturing, FMCG, BFSI, healthcare, GCCs, and EPC industries.” Balasubramanian adds that hiring in non-tech sectors is expanding with cautious optimism. According to TeamLease Employment Outlook Report H2FY26, India’s net employment change (NEC) stands at +4.4%, with nearly 56% of employers planning to expand headcount led by e-commerce, logistics, retail, FMCG, and automotive. “Overall, non-tech hiring remains healthy but sharply focused, with employers prioritising skill depth, productivity, and formalisation over sheer volume,” he adds. Kartik Narayan, CEO - Jobs Marketplace, Apna, pointed out that GST easing and I-T relief has boosted sales for companies, prompting them to hire more professionals. The GST easing and income tax relief led both FMCG and FMCD companies to expand their sales and distribution hiring. The automobile sector is also riding on a strong festive push and better financing flows.”