India’s rapid expansion of data centre capacity, driven largely by rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and digital services, is beginning to create employment opportunities well beyond traditional technology roles.
Data from Indeed Hiring Lab shows that 1.3% of job postings in India mentioned data centres in August, up from 1% a year earlier and nearly double the level recorded two years ago. KPMG has estimated that data centres could represent a $90 billion opportunity for India by 2035.
The growth comes as businesses invest in the infrastructure required to support the increasing use of AI services. While much of the discussion around AI and employment has focused on automation and its potential impact on existing jobs, the infrastructure required to run AI at scale is creating a different layer of employment demand.
“The expansion of India’s data centre capacity is creating a new layer of employment demand as businesses invest in the infrastructure required to support AI and other digital services. Importantly, this is not simply a story about more technology jobs. Data centres are complex, large-scale operations that require workers across engineering, project management, business operations and other functions. As investment matures, this broader employment impact is likely to become increasingly visible in the labour market,” said Indeed, APAC, Senior Economist, Callam Pickering.
Data centre hiring spans multiple functions
Software development accounted for 28% of data centre-related job postings in FY2025-26, making it the largest category. IT infrastructure, operations and support accounted for another 15.6%, while IT systems and solutions represented 7.1%.
However, nearly half of the hiring demand was spread across non-technology functions.
Management accounted for 9.9% of data centre job postings, followed by industrial engineering at 5.8%, sales at 5.2%, electrical engineering at 3.6% and project management at 3.5%.
The mix reflects the requirements of building and running large-scale data centre facilities, where technology specialists work alongside engineers, project managers, business teams and operational staff.
Overall hiring remains above pre-pandemic levels
India’s broader hiring activity also strengthened in August, with job postings rising 0.2% during the month. This consolidated the previous month’s gain, leaving postings 7.4% higher than a year earlier.
Despite volatility in recent months, hiring activity remains elevated. Job postings in August were 85% above pre-pandemic levels, according to Indeed.
Indeed noted that its data primarily captures recruitment by companies and organisations in the formal economy and therefore does not represent India’s entire labour market. The platform’s data also has a greater representation of technology, management and sales roles.
The relatively strong growth in formal-sector job postings reflects India’s continuing shift towards more formal employment arrangements. Formal-sector jobs typically offer higher pay, greater job security and clearer career progression.
Healthcare leads recent hiring growth
Hiring trends across individual occupations have been mixed. Over the past three months, job postings increased in nearly 80% of occupations.
Healthcare occupations recorded some of the strongest growth, with postings for childcare rising 27%, nursing 23%, pharmacy 20% and physicians and surgeons 17%. Dental roles and medical technicians also recorded increases of 16% and 14%, respectively.
Technology hiring, meanwhile, has weakened in recent months. IT infrastructure, operations and support postings declined 20% over the past three months, while software development postings fell 19%. Data and analytics postings declined 14%, and IT systems and solutions postings fell 7.6%.
Despite these declines, technology job postings remain above pre-pandemic levels.
The data centre trend highlights a parallel development: while some conventional technology hiring is facing pressure, investment in the physical and operational infrastructure required to support AI is generating demand across a much wider range of occupations.