New Delhi, February 2026.

India’s hiring market is moving fast, but finding the right talent is getting harder. New research from LinkedIn shows that 74% of recruiters now struggle to find qualified candidates, even as hiring activity runs 40% above pre-pandemic levels.

This is because recruiters are facing a volume-quality mismatch. Among recruiters who say hiring has become more difficult, over half point to a surge in AI-generated applications (53%), while many cite continued shortages in in-demand skills (47%). Nearly half also say distinguishing genuine applications from low-quality or misleading ones is adding friction to the process (48%).

The result is a more crowded, competitive labour market. LinkedIn platform data shows applicants per open role in India have more than doubled since 2022. Additionally, while 72% of professionals say they’re actively job-hunting in 2026, 85% admit they feel unprepared to navigate the process.

Recruiters are using AI to spot the right skills, hire faster, and make the candidate journey more fulfilling

Amid these pressures, recruiters are seeing AI as part of the solution. Among those already using it, 71% in India say AI has helped them uncover candidates with skills they would have previously missed, while 80% report it makes gaining insight into a candidate’s skills easier. More than three-quarters (76%) believe AI is already speeding up hiring.

Looking ahead, adoption is only set to rise. Around 8 in 10 Indian recruiters say they plan to expand their use of AI to support hiring goals, evaluate applicants, and source top talent. A majority also plan to increase AI use for pre-screening interviews in 2026, believing it will lead to more valuable recruiter-candidate conversations (83%), faster hiring experience (83%), and better candidate insights (82%).

Ruchee Anand, APAC VP, LinkedIn Talent Solutions, said: "We’re seeing a structural shift in hiring from pedigree and past titles to demonstrated skills and capability. This shift is hard to execute at scale without AI. Used responsibly, AI helps recruiters detect the right skills earlier, reduce screening friction and create a more consistent and fair evaluation process. Our priority at LinkedIn is to build AI tools like Hiring Assistant that serve as a decision-support layer in hiring, so recruiters can find the right talent more quickly and confidently without compromising on quality or candidate experience.”

Transparency becomes central to the recruiter–job seeker relationship

As AI becomes more embedded in hiring, expectations from candidates are rising, too. Professionals increasingly want visibility into how hiring decisions are made, signalling a clear demand for transparency. Half of recruiters (50%) in India now say they are under pressure to explain how AI is being used in their processes and hiring flow, particularly when it comes to screening and shortlisting candidates.

How LinkedIn is helping recruiters hire faster and smarter

To address the core challenges of recruiters in India - speed and quality - LinkedIn continues to invest in AI-powered hiring tools designed to move talent conversations forward:

●        Salary & Notice Period Filters allow members to share their expected salary and notice period - information visible only to recruiters - helping reduce friction and unnecessary back-and-forth early in the hiring process.

●      Hiring Assistant, LinkedIn’s AI agent for recruiters, is helping companies such as AMD, Aurecon, Chewy, Expedia Group, Fabletics, Jacobs, Siemens and Wipro uncover qualified talent faster. Early adopters report reviewing 62% fewer profiles, saving more than four hours per role, and seeing a 69% improvement in InMail acceptance rate. Hiring Assistant is globally available in English.

●      LinkedIn Hiring Pro is the AI agent that helps small businesses identify, shortlist, and reach out to strong candidates more quickly. Based on early usage, nearly 60% of hirers using the product find someone to interview within the first week, while those who report time savings see an average of 6+ hours saved each week. New features include:

○      AI-powered interview support for initial screenings

○      An updated, conversational interface that makes it easier todescribe hiring needs and provide feedback to refine candidate search results

○      AI-assisted Personalized InMailsto directly connect with qualified candidates