<p>Bengaluru: The country's technology sector is set to witness positive signs in terms of hiring in February, as active talent demand moves up by 8% month-on-month. According to specialist staffing firm Xpheno, this is the first significant move up after a sluggish six-month run since August last year.</p>.<p>The report said February 2026 is set to open with a strong rise in full-time remote openings, along with a significant sequential drop in hybrid openings. This comes at a time when IT firms are mandating full-time Work From Office. Of total active tech jobs, job openings in Bengaluru alone are 26,000, which is an 8% increase compared to January 2026 and a 23% drop year-on-year.</p>.<p>Also, February opens with a Tech Jobs outlook for 109,000 active openings in the tech talent market in the country. The tech sector’s current contribution to India’s total active talent demand is 51%, going past the 50% mark for the third time in over 3 years now, according to Kamal Karanth, co-founder, Xpheno.</p>.<p>The tech openings for February 2026 have a 42% freshness index, with nearly half of all openings being published or refreshed in the last 2-week period.</p>.Economic Survey 2025-26 | ‘India an oasis of stability’: CEA Nageswaran on growth, freebies and global risks.<p>Meanwhile, acquiring Artificial Intelligence (AI) and GenAI skills has become a strategic priority for senior employees. Professionals with over 15 years of work experience accounted for over 40% of all GenAI and AI / ML (Machine Learning) enrolments in the edtech platform Great Learning.</p>.<p>As senior leaders are expected to drive AI-led transformation, guide organisational strategy, and make informed decisions in increasingly data-driven environments, these top executives view such skills as essential for both strategic decision-making and for leadership effectiveness.</p>.<p>Both AI and ML continue to emerge as the most sought-after upskilling domains among professionals in 2025, accounting for 17% increase in year-on-year demand for the domain. This was followed by domains like Data Science, Software Development, Cloud Computing, and Cyber Security, Great Learning said in its insights.</p>.<p>Also, the demand for upskilling was highest among freshers and early-career professionals with 0–3 years of work experience, accounting to 48% of enrolments.</p>.<p>The Economic Survey 2026 also highlighted the need for upskilling in this AI era. Though 78% of professionals say that ongoing upskilling is critical for long-term career growth, according to a new survey by jobs and talent platform foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), strong intent is being undermined by structural constraints. Nearly two-thirds of respondents say lack of time or high course costs are holding them back from upskilling consistently, resulting in only 43% managing to learn on a weekly basis.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The country's technology sector is set to witness positive signs in terms of hiring in February, as active talent demand moves up by 8% month-on-month. According to specialist staffing firm Xpheno, this is the first significant move up after a sluggish six-month run since August last year.</p>.<p>The report said February 2026 is set to open with a strong rise in full-time remote openings, along with a significant sequential drop in hybrid openings. This comes at a time when IT firms are mandating full-time Work From Office. Of total active tech jobs, job openings in Bengaluru alone are 26,000, which is an 8% increase compared to January 2026 and a 23% drop year-on-year.</p>.<p>Also, February opens with a Tech Jobs outlook for 109,000 active openings in the tech talent market in the country. The tech sector’s current contribution to India’s total active talent demand is 51%, going past the 50% mark for the third time in over 3 years now, according to Kamal Karanth, co-founder, Xpheno.</p>.<p>The tech openings for February 2026 have a 42% freshness index, with nearly half of all openings being published or refreshed in the last 2-week period.</p>.Economic Survey 2025-26 | ‘India an oasis of stability’: CEA Nageswaran on growth, freebies and global risks.<p>Meanwhile, acquiring Artificial Intelligence (AI) and GenAI skills has become a strategic priority for senior employees. Professionals with over 15 years of work experience accounted for over 40% of all GenAI and AI / ML (Machine Learning) enrolments in the edtech platform Great Learning.</p>.<p>As senior leaders are expected to drive AI-led transformation, guide organisational strategy, and make informed decisions in increasingly data-driven environments, these top executives view such skills as essential for both strategic decision-making and for leadership effectiveness.</p>.<p>Both AI and ML continue to emerge as the most sought-after upskilling domains among professionals in 2025, accounting for 17% increase in year-on-year demand for the domain. This was followed by domains like Data Science, Software Development, Cloud Computing, and Cyber Security, Great Learning said in its insights.</p>.<p>Also, the demand for upskilling was highest among freshers and early-career professionals with 0–3 years of work experience, accounting to 48% of enrolments.</p>.<p>The Economic Survey 2026 also highlighted the need for upskilling in this AI era. Though 78% of professionals say that ongoing upskilling is critical for long-term career growth, according to a new survey by jobs and talent platform foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), strong intent is being undermined by structural constraints. Nearly two-thirds of respondents say lack of time or high course costs are holding them back from upskilling consistently, resulting in only 43% managing to learn on a weekly basis.</p>