India's salary hikes are projected to range between 8.6% to 10.2% across industries in FY26-27, according to the latest TeamLease Jobs and Salaries Primer report. The report identifies electric vehicle (EV) and EV infrastructure, financial tech, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and power and energy as sectors expected to lead salary growth, with average increments ranging between 9.6% and 10.2%. Technical and engineering positions are positioned to receive the strongest salary growth, with electrical engineers topping the list at 11.2% projected increments, followed by quality control inspectors at 10.9% and IT Support Executives at 10.3%. The report notes that these projections reflect "uninterrupted demand for engineering roles alongside core technical and on-ground operational capabilities."
Cities like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam and Jaipur are posting salary hikes that rival or exceed several metros, with manufacturing and industrial growth reshaping India's pay landscape. The Tier 2 cities are narrowing the gap with established employment hubs, driven by manufacturing, industrial expansion and enterprise investments rather than just information technology. Ahmedabad will reportedly see an increment of 9.5%, matching Vizag and exceeding hubs like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi. Jaipur records a 9.3% increase, while Nagpur follows close in the competitive salary landscape. Among cities, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad stand out as the leading destinations for salary growth across sectors, with the IT industry expected to offer particularly high pay increases.
The report identifies specific sectors and roles that will see the most significant salary increases. IT Support Executives are projected to receive a 10.1% hike, along with Project Engineers at 10.7%, EHS Officers at 10.1%, Site Engineers at 10.1%, and Relationship Executives at 10.1%. Industries grouped under the "sustainable growth" category are still projected to post healthy increments of 8.9% to 9.5%, including Automotive, Retail, Insurance, BPO, FMCG, Logistics and E-commerce. The IT industry specifically is expected to offer some of the highest pay increases, with Hyderabad projected at 11.7%, Chennai at 11.5%, and Pune at 11.3%. However, some specialized roles continue to outpace broader sector trends, with Site Engineers projected to receive a 9.8% hike and Telecallers 9.7%.
Highlighting a broader economic shift, cycles that were usually dominated by IT hiring are seeing growth in cities that are expanding their industrial, manufacturing and enterprise operations. Within the non-metro landscape, a more advanced group of cities, such as Ahmedabad and Nagpur alongside Visakhapatnam and Jaipur, are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, with increment outlook now competitive with several metros, and supported by manufacturing expansion, industrial corridor development, and steady enterprise investment. Unlike earlier cycles that were dominated by IT hiring, the report attributes the growth in these cities to expanding industrial clusters, manufacturing investments and enterprise operations. The report emphasizes that "this trend shows sustained demand for engineering, technical support, and customer-facing roles that enable infrastructure execution and service delivery across core industries."
In terms of salary variance between permanent and temporary positions, Travel and Hospitality displays the lowest gap at 4.2%, followed by Power and Energy at 4.3% and FinTech at 4.8%. On the other hand, Manufacturing, Engineering and Infrastructure display the highest salary variance at 11.4%, followed by Insurance at 9.9% and Banking at 9.8%. The report notes that "lower variance in tech and consumption industries signals tighter temp-perm parity, unlike regulated industries, where gaps remain pronounced." Beyond salary increments, the report highlights that not every industry is expected to grow at the same pace, with Banking, Construction and Real Estate, Telecommunications and Textile under the "gradual growth" category where salary increments are expected to range between 8.6% and 8.8%.
