Why You Should Seriously Consider AI As A Career

Growth in AI engineering hiring is being driven by rapid AI adoption across organisations of all sizes, said the report.

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AI hiring surge in India

Hiring initiatives for artificial intelligence talent (AI) shot up 59.5 per cent year-on-year in India, according to LinkedIn's new AI Labor Market Report 2026.

AI adoption across industries and companies is accelerating the demand for professionals proficient in AI technology.

Growth in AI engineering hiring is being driven by rapid AI adoption across organisations of all sizes, said the report.

While Bengaluru continued to lead as a global AI hub, the report highlights a shift in hiring momentum when it comes to cities.

Hyderabad (+51 per cent) and Vijayawada (+45.5 per cent) saw strong growth in AI engineering hiring, signalling a broader spread of opportunities across Tier-II and Tier-III markets.

Key points

AI hiring in India surged 59.5 per cent year-on-year, reflecting accelerating adoption across industries and organisations of all sizes.
Bengaluru remains dominant but Hyderabad and Vijayawada show strong growth, indicating expansion into Tier II and Tier III cities.
Demand is shifting towards applied AI skills, including AI agents and productivity tools tied to real-world deployment.
Large enterprises lead AI hiring with infrastructure investments, while smaller firms bridge experimentation and scalable AI adoption.
The entry-level hiring decline mirrors the overall hiring slowdown globally, suggesting broader economic factors rather than AI-driven job displacement.

Demand for AI skills rising

"We are seeing strong growth in applied AI skills such as AI agents and productivity tools, which are directly tied to real-world deployment.

"For engineers, this is a clear signal to focus on building practical, hands-on capabilities and integrating AI into everyday workflows.

"As adoption accelerates across industries and organisations of all sizes, those who can move from experimentation to execution will be best positioned to capture the opportunity," said Malai Lakshmanan, head of LinkedIn India Engineering.

AI job growth in tier II cities

Large enterprises continue to lead when it comes to employing AI talent, as they invest in infrastructure, governance and large-scale deployment.

At the same time, smaller and mid-sized businesses are catching up quickly, serving as a bridge between early experimentation and enterprise-scale adoption.

AI talent supply is also expanding across industries as adoption deepens.

In manufacturing, AI engineering talent has expanded four times in India, reaching two per cent in 2025.

Entry level hiring trends

The report also highlighted that AI is increasingly framed as displacing jobs, especially entry-level roles, but hiring data suggests a more nuanced story that is hard to separate from broader economic uncertainty.

Across the UK, US, Germany, France and India, entry-level hiring has declined at roughly the same pace as overall hiring, rather than collapsing disproportionately.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff