Salary transparency in job postings becoming common: Report

Mumbai: Salary transparency is increasingly becoming a common feature in job postings, however, some sectors and roles continue to remain opaque, a report said on Thursday.

Salary transparency is becoming a defining feature of job postings in India, according to a report by global job site Indeed.

In early 2025, the share of job postings that include salary information on Indeed India crossed 50 per cent, up from just 26 per cent in March 2022 and 47 per cent by the end of 2023, the report stated.

This change is largely fuelled by job seekers who value clarity, fairness, and informed decisions when exploring opportunities, it added.

"While disclosing pay early is becoming a key advantage in attracting talent, there's still more work to be done to make salary transparency the norm. Once considered a nice-to-have, it is fast becoming a core pillar of modern employer branding. In fact, in a competitive market, transparency is the new currency for attracting top talent," Indeed India Head of Sales Sashi Kumar said.

The report is based on job postings published on Indeed India from March 2022 to June 2025 and is based on a survey conducted by market research firm Valuvox among 1,157 employers and 2,559 job seekers and employees.

It further revealed that salary transparency is most common in remote and hybrid job postings.

Data indicated that a significant percentage of these flexible roles now include salary details, as remote and hybrid positions often attract candidates from various geographies and markets. Clear and upfront pay expectations are crucial for employers to successfully reach and engage qualified talent across different locations.

Salary transparency also varies significantly across job levels, with senior leadership roles remaining the least transparent, with only 13 per cent revealing the compensation brackets, the report found.

Junior and mid-level roles showed the highest levels of disclosure, with 32 per cent of postings, including pay information, it stated.

This is likely because these positions often attract a high volume of applicants, and upfront salary details help employers filter and engage the right candidates faster, the report noted.

Following closely are the entry-level roles, with 28 per cent disclosing salary, reflecting efforts to appeal to younger job seekers who increasingly prioritise transparency, it added.

The report revealed that several sectors are now embracing salary transparency more proactively, particularly IT products and services, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Consulting, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Goods and Retail.

Across these industries, 35 per cent of job postings now include pay information, it said.

From the employer's perspective, this shift is helping reduce time-to-hire, improve applicant quality, and stay competitive in a tight labour market, it added.