India's Listed Companies Grew Staff Only 1.8% in FY26 as Like-for-Like Salary Hikes Rose to 9.4%

Headcount at India's listed companies grew just 1.8% year-on-year in FY26, a five-year low, while like-for-like annual salary hikes rose to 9.4% over the same year. The figures come from a Jefferies analysis of annual reports from around 2,200 companies, so they describe the formal, listed end of the job market rather than the whole economy. For job seekers, the headline is that salary increases improved modestly even as employee additions slowed, and employment growth was higher among companies that reported stronger revenue growth. For Metaintro readers job hunting in India, this piece sets out which sectors slowed, where hiring held up, what raises look like next year, and what the official labour data shows alongside it.

How Broad Was the Hiring Slowdown at India's Listed Companies?

The slowdown was broad. The sample covers around 2,200 listed companies with 10.4 million employees. Jefferies found slower hiring across most sectors in FY26.

Slower growth is not the same as job cuts. The figures point to slower workforce expansion, rather than necessarily indicating that companies were cutting jobs, and they do not by themselves show which individual companies added the most workers or which reduced headcount.

Ownership mattered. Private companies accounted for nearly all formal job creation during the year, while public sector undertakings reported a 0.4% decline in employee numbers.

Which Sector Weighed on Hiring?

Financial services. Headcount growth in the sector eased to 1.7% in FY26, and that moderation was a key factor behind the slowdown in overall organised-sector employment growth.

It is still the biggest employer on the list. Financial services made up 28% of total employment among listed companies and employed around 50 per cent more people than the information technology sector.

The sector also kept adding the most people in absolute terms. The sector added around 48,000 employees during the year, which left it the largest contributor to new employment even as its growth rate fell.

Although hiring growth in financial services slowed in FY26, the sector remained the largest contributor to incremental employment, according to the Zee Business report on the Jefferies data.

Where Did Hiring Hold Up?

Revenue growth and hiring moved together. Listed companies outside finance whose revenue grew by more than 20 per cent recorded aggregate headcount growth of 9.1%, and around 68% of those companies increased their employee numbers.

The middle tier grew headcount too. Companies with revenue growth of 10-20 per cent reported aggregate headcount growth of 4.4%, against 1.8% across all the listed companies analysed.

Jefferies expects revenue growth to improve in FY27, which could support hiring, although the outlook depends on whether stronger business growth turns into extra workforce needs.

What Happened to Pay at These Companies?

Raises improved slightly even as hiring slowed. After adjusting for the mix of new hires and retiring staff, Jefferies estimated that like-for-like annual salary hikes improved marginally to 9.4% in FY26.

Total employee costs at the companies analysed by Jefferies came to Rs 13.4 trillion, equivalent to around USD 152 billion, in FY26.

The divergence between hiring growth and wage growth is also relevant for assessing the outlook for household incomes and consumption.

Directors did better than the wider payroll. Overall compensation for directors rose 12%, compared with a 7% rise in the total wage bill.

The organised sector wage bill was growing at around 8% in the first quarter of FY27, in the Jefferies estimate. If you are weighing an offer, set it against Korn Ferry's salary budget forecast for India as well as the employer survey below.

What Raises Are Employers Planning for Next Year?

Close to this year's level. Indian salaries are projected to increase by 9.1% in 2027, broadly stable compared with the actual 9% increase in 2026, in Aon's annual Salary Increase and Turnover Survey for India, released in October 2026 and covering more than 1,200 organisations across 45 industries.

Some sectors are budgeting more. Non-banking financial companies are projected to lead salary growth in 2027 at 10.1%, followed by energy at 9.9% and real estate and infrastructure at 9.8%.

Technology services sit at the bottom. Technology consulting and services firms are projected to record the lowest salary increase among the sectors surveyed, at 6.6%, unchanged from 2026.

Projections for other sectors in the same survey:

• Banking, expected to ease to 8.5%, from 8.6% in 2026.
• Global capability centres, 9.4%.
• Life sciences and funds and asset management, 9.6% each.
• Automotive and vehicle manufacturing, easing from 9.7% to 9.5%.
• Chemicals, 8%, compared with 8.1% a year earlier.

People are also moving more. Overall attrition increased to 18% in 2026, compared with 16.2% in 2025 and 17.1% in 2024, which suggests competition for talent remains strong. Involuntary attrition, meaning exits initiated by employers, also rose to 4% from 3.4% in 2025.

Raises are expected to beat inflation by more next year. Real wage growth, which adjusts salary increases for inflation, is projected at 5.1% in 2027, compared with 4.3% in 2026, and 62% of companies are budgeting salary increases above 9%.

Stable salary budgets are enabling a more targeted approach to pay, Roopank Chaudhary, Partner and Rewards Consulting Leader for Talent Solutions in India at Aon, said, according to the Aon India salary survey release.

Which Roles Are Drawing a Pay Premium?

AI and data roles. Talent premiums for AI, machine learning and data science roles increased by approximately 10% from 2025.

Tools are spreading at work. Established adoption of AI productivity tools rose from 46.1% in 2025 to 56%, with usage up across every job cluster measured, and around 60% of employers are prioritising upskilling of employees.

Aon's Roopank Chaudhary pointed to a modest rise in non-merit adjustments, particularly in manufacturing and technology, reflecting greater focus on market alignment, scarce skills and critical talent.

How Ready Are Employers for the Wage Code?

Among employers in the same survey, 65.4% are already compliant with the Wage Code and a further 20.9% expect to be ready within six months.

Costs are expected to rise for a large minority. Some 42.8% anticipate payroll cost increases of at least 1%.

Ask how any restructuring of your pay is communicated. Amit Kumar Otwani, Associate Partner in Aon's Talent Solutions team in India, said employers "need to assess the workforce and cost implications, align any changes to cost to the company with their rewards philosophy and communicate the transition clearly". If your offer letter or annual statement changes shape, ask HR to show the old and new breakdown side by side.

What Does the Data Show for Contract and Construction Workers?

Jefferies also examined employment trends in the informal sector through workforce data from construction and staffing companies. The number of contracted workers at Larsen and Toubro rose 7% year-on-year to 378,000 in FY26. Construction is a major source of employment for low-skilled rural and migrant workers, and Jefferies used contracted employment at EPC companies as an indicator of informal-sector job trends.

L&T's other-than-permanent workers are those on third-party roll and on contract, and 99.4% of them were men at the end of FY26.

Pay for most of them was at the legal floor. In FY26, 90% of the company's other-than-permanent workers were paid equal to minimum wage and 10% were paid more than minimum wage, against 81% and 19% in FY25. The FY26 figures are based on CLRA filings for calendar year 2025, and the company notes gaps in the supporting evidence submitted by contractors. Service contracts account for over 70% of engagements, and for those wages are paid by the contractor and not directly monitored, though L&T says statutory compliance is ensured.

Staffing firms were flat. Contracted workers at TeamLease Services, SIS and Quess Corp remained flat year-on-year at around 1 million. That pool equals approximately 10% of the employee count of the listed companies in the analysis. If you earn below the provident fund threshold, the recent change that made provident fund compulsory for lower earners is worth checking against your payslip.

Is India's Wider Job Market Weakening Too?

The official monthly survey looks steadier. The unemployment rate for people aged 15 and above remained stable at 5.0% in September 2026, down by 0.2 percentage points from September 2025, in the Periodic Labour Force Survey from the statistics ministry. The survey classifies each person by what they did in the last 7 days preceding the date of survey, known as the Current Weekly Status approach.

Unemployment is higher in cities. Urban unemployment edged up marginally from 6.8% to 6.9% between August and September, while rural unemployment stood at 4.2%. For urban women the rate increased marginally from 8.9% to 9.2% over the same month.

The share of people in work rose over the year. The worker population ratio increased by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 52.7% in September 2026, and urban labour force participation increased to 50.7% in September 2026, up from 50.4% in August 2026, though over the year it registered a marginal decline of 0.2 percentage points, from 50.9% to 50.7%. Over the year, the rural worker population ratio recorded an increase of 0.7 percentage points, from 54.8% to 55.5%, and rural labour force participation increased by 0.6 percentage points, from 57.4% to 58.0%. Overall female labour force participation rose by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 34.6% in September 2026.

Rural women gained ground. Rural female labour force participation increased by 1.0 percentage point to 38.9% over the year to September 2026, and rural female unemployment fell to 3.9%, the lowest level recorded during 2026.

The workforce keeps growing. Jefferies estimates the non-agricultural workforce at around 360 million people, with annual labour force growth of 7 to 8 million workers, and on those estimates annual growth of around 2 to 3% in the existing employment base would be enough to absorb new entrants.

Over the longer term, annual labour force growth could slow to 5 to 6 million people.

Could Government Pay Revisions Change the Picture?

The link runs through spending. The Union Cabinet approved the Terms of Reference of the 8th Central Pay Commission on October 28, 2025, and the commission is to make its recommendations within 18 months of the date of its constitution.

The start date follows a pattern rather than a decision. Pay commission recommendations are usually implemented every ten years, so the effect of this one would normally be expected from 01.01.2026.

Implementation is still some way off. Jefferies expects the 8th Pay Commission to be implemented in late FY28, and higher government salaries plus accumulated arrears could support discretionary consumption. A weak monsoon and the fading impact of GST-related benefits could weigh on consumption, with the benefits of GST tax cuts expected by Jefferies to begin to fade from October 2026 onwards.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

In FY26, like-for-like salary hikes reached 9.4% while listed-company headcount grew 1.8%.

• Follow revenue, not brand names. Firms outside finance with revenue growth above 20 per cent grew headcount 9.1%, so a company's reported revenue growth is worth checking when you build a shortlist.
• Do not write off finance. Its growth rate slowed, but the sector still added around 48,000 employees, more than any other.
• Benchmark your raise. Employers expect 9.1% for 2027, and technology consulting and services firms at 6.6%, the lowest among the sectors surveyed, so check which band your employer falls in before review season.
• Look at AI and data roles. Premiums for AI, machine learning and data science roles rose by approximately 10% from 2025.
• Contract workers, read your wage slip. At Larsen and Toubro, 90% of other-than-permanent workers were paid equal to minimum wage in FY26 filings covering calendar 2025. Ask whether you are on a manpower or service contract, because the company has direct oversight of manpower-contract workers, while on service contracts the contractor pays wages.

If your company has already frozen raises, the case of Zoho staff missing this year's usual pay rise is a useful comparison before you negotiate.

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People Also Asked

Q: How fast did jobs grow at India's listed companies in FY26?

A: Headcount across about 2,200 listed companies grew 1.8% in FY26, a five-year low.

Q: How much did salaries rise at India's listed companies in FY26?

A: Jefferies estimated like-for-like annual salary hikes at 9.4% in FY26, while a separate employer survey put the actual 2026 increase at 9%.

Q: What is India's latest unemployment rate?

A: The rate for people aged 15 and above was 5.0% in September 2026 on the Current Weekly Status measure.

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