New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- Students entering this year's placement season are stepping into a tough job market. A combination of global and domestic pressures has slowed down hiring activity across top campuses.

On the international front, fresh US tariffs have added to trade uncertainties, leading some multinational recruiters to scale back their campus presence. The revised H-1B visa rules, which now require companies to pay up to $100,000 per immigrant employee in the US, along with a temporary freeze on new US work visas, have further reduced international opportunities by making overseas hiring more difficult and costlier.

Domestically, the IT sector-traditionally the backbone of placements-has scaled back significantly, leaving fewer op...