India Inc to offer avg salary hike of 6.2-11.3% across industries: Report

Salary hikes to be highest in EV, consumer durables, retail, and NBFC sectors, with expected increments of up to 11.3%, says report based on inputs from 1,308 firms across 23 industries

Corporate India is expected to dole out average salary hike in the range of 6.2 per cent to 11.3 per cent this fiscal, as employers are reshaping their workforce strategies by focusing more on skill certification and incentive-led engagement, a report said on Tuesday.

According to the TeamLease Services - Jobs and Salaries Primer 2025-?26 report, the average salary hikes is projected to be in the range between 6.2 per cent and 11.3 per cent across industries, while some role-level salary increments are expected to reach up to 13.8 per cent.

"The projected salary growth, ranging from 6.2 per cent to 11.3 per cent, signals a broader realignment in India's job and wage landscape. As new-age industries scale rapidly, demand is shifting toward roles that combine technical capability with immediate business impact," TeamLease Services CEO - Staffing, Kartik Narayan said.

The report, based on inputs from 1,308 businesses across 23 industries and 20 cities, noted that the highest salary increments are expected in sectors such as EV and EV infrastructure (11.3 per cent), consumer durables (10.7 per cent), retail (10.7 per cent), and NBFCs (10.4 per cent).

Top roles within industries with the highest salary increment are Electrical Design Engineer (12.4 per cent) in EV & EV Infrastructure, In-Store Demonstrator (12.2 per cent) in Consumer Durables, Relationship Executive (11.6 per cent) in NBFC, and Fashion Assistant (11.2 per cent) in Retail, it added.

The report also found a strong blue-collar rebound as this segment is now experiencing healthy increments, driven by rising infrastructure investments, the expanding EV ecosystem, and the ongoing revival in real estate and manufacturing.

The fastest-growing blue-collar roles are mechanic (10.4 per cent), material handler (10 per cent), machine operator (9.9 per cent), and electrician (9.3 per cent), it stated.

"In the upward momentum in blue-collar wages even the traditionally stable roles like mechanic and material handler are seeing double-digit hikes. We see this shift as a critical signal for employers to align hiring with new growth engines, and for job seekers to upskill toward relevance and resilience," Narayan said.

Amid increasing competition among skilled operational workers, employers are reshaping their workforce strategies by focusing more on skill certification, retention, and incentive-led engagement, the report said.

A few of the roles within cities are expected to show exceptional salary increments -- Quality Control Inspector (13.8 per cent) in Pune, MIS Executive (13.4 per cent) in Hyderabad, Data Engineer (12.9 per cent) in Bengaluru, Electrical Design Engineer (12.6 per cent) in Mumbai and Sales Executive (12.4 per cent) in Gurgaon among others, it added.

The report further noted that across functional areas, sales and marketing roles are projected to see the highest average salary increment at 9.9 per cent, followed closely by engineering (9.5 per cent).

Other core functions, such as finance, customer service and back office, blue collar, and HR and admin, are expected to receive moderate hikes of between 8.2 per cent and 8.6 per cent, indicating a balanced growth trend across business-critical areas.