New Delhi: India’s white-collar hiring activity moderated in May 2026, registering a 4 percent year-on-year decline, even as diversity-focused recruitment witnessed strong growth, according to the latest report released by foundit on Wednesday.
The latest foundit Insights Tracker (fit) report revealed that overall white-collar hiring also fell 6 percent month-on-month, reflecting continued employer caution amid evolving market conditions and selective recruitment strategies.
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The decline in hiring was primarily driven by weaker recruitment activity across sectors such as import and export, logistics and transportation, retail, and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI). Hiring in the import and export sector dropped 23 percent year-on-year, followed by logistics and transportation (-18 percent), retail (-8 percent), and BFSI (-8 percent).
In contrast, several sectors recorded robust hiring growth during the period. Travel and tourism emerged as the top-performing sector with a 26 percent year-on-year increase in recruitment, followed by automotive (12 percent), healthcare and pharmaceuticals (11 percent), and real estate (11 percent).
The report is based on an analysis of 739,188 online job postings tracked by foundit.in, one of India’s leading job search platforms.
Despite the moderation in overall hiring, diversity recruitment recorded a significant 21 percent growth year-on-year, highlighting organisations’ continued focus on building inclusive workplaces.
Women accounted for 56 percent of all diversity-focused recruitment during May, while the representation of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) increased substantially, reaching 12 percent of diversity hiring—three times higher than levels recorded two years ago. Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) hiring, which includes LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse talent, expanded to nearly one-third of all diversity recruitments.
Commenting on the trend, Tarun Sinha said, “While overall hiring has grown more selective, organisations continue to invest in talent areas that support long-term business resilience.”
He noted that the sustained momentum in diversity hiring reflects a structural shift in corporate hiring strategies, with inclusion increasingly viewed as a business capability rather than merely a compliance requirement.
“The expansion into leadership roles, technology functions, and previously underrepresented groups such as PwD signals a more integrated and mature approach to building future-ready workforces,” Sinha added.
Sector-wise, IT-Software and Services led diversity hiring with a 25 percent share. LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse talent accounted for up to 40 percent of diversity recruitment within the sector.
The BFSI sector reported the highest representation of women in diversity hiring at 62 percent, followed by FMCG at 61 percent and healthcare at 60 percent.
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PwD hiring was most concentrated in ITES/BPO, accounting for 18 percent of diversity recruitment, followed by manufacturing and automotive at 16 percent. Meanwhile, consulting and analytics increased its share of diversity hiring to 14 percent, underscoring the growing emphasis on inclusive talent acquisition across industries.
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