Experts consider the net number as a better indicator of actual increase in staff count.

"IT companies are cautious in their hiring plans currently. They are hiring on requirement and project basis," Uday Sodhi of job portal Head Honchos said.

Hiring in the sunrise sector has been sluggish as the outsourcing industry is under duress amid clients cutting back on IT spends fearing a further weakening of the economic conditions.

TCS while announcing its results this month had said that its hiring had come down due to low attrition rate. The company witnessed a low attrition rate of 9.55 percent for IT division and 15.77 percent for BPO segment.

A recent survey by IT industry body Nasscom had said that attrition rate in the IT sector has come down to around 14 percent in 2012-13 from 19 percent in 2010-11 for IT and KPO segments.

The survey, which rated TCS, Infosys and Wipro among top five IT employers, also said that hiring by companies would grow at a slower rate this year.

Moreover, there has been a change in hiring pattern by software and services companies, which may lower net additions this year, it said.

Project based 'just-in-time' hiring is the dominant way at present, it added.

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