Pune Among Top Cities for Salary Hikes as Manufacturing, Engineering Beat IT in 2026–27
Pune, 29th July 2026: Employees in the private sector can expect another round of annual salary revisions as the new appraisal season approaches. However, unlike in previous years, the information technology (IT) sector is no longer expected to lead salary hikes.
Manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure sectors are projected to offer some of the highest salary increments in 2026–27.
According to the latest TeamLease Services report, employees in the manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure sectors are likely to receive an average salary hike of 9.4% in 2026–27, up from 7.9% last year. The report attributes the increase to higher investments in infrastructure, the expansion of the semiconductor industry and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.
Among job roles, Project Engineers are expected to receive the highest average salary hike at 10.7%. They are followed by Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Officers and Site Engineers, both projected to receive increments of 10.1%. Mechanical Design Engineers are expected to see an average salary increase of 9.9%.
The report indicates that the IT sector has been affected by slower hiring and changing business priorities driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, resulting in comparatively lower salary growth than in previous years.
At the department level, engineering is expected to record the highest average salary hike at 9.9%, followed by information technology at 9.8% and finance at 9.5%.
The report also highlights growing demand for professionals who combine technical expertise with digital skills, as manufacturing operations increasingly adopt automation, digital systems and smart technologies.
Pune among top five cities for salary growth
Location also continues to play an important role in salary trends, according to the report. Gurugram is expected to record the highest average salary hike at 10.9%, followed by Coimbatore at 10.8%.
Hyderabad and Pune are jointly projected to record average salary hikes of 10.1%, placing both cities among the top-performing locations. Vadodara follows with an expected average increment of 9.9%.
The findings indicate that while IT remains a key employment sector, strong industrial growth, infrastructure development and the increasing adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies are shifting salary growth in favour of engineering and manufacturing professionals.
