India’s festive season is shaping up to be a major hiring window, with companies expected to create 250-270 thousand temporary and gig jobs this year, as ecommerce, quick commerce, logistics, organised retail and BFSI firms ramp up operations to meet a surge in consumer demand.
According to a report by talent solutions firm Adecco India, festive-season temporary and gig hiring is likely to grow 15-20% year-on-year in 2026, building on an estimated 2.16 lakh jobs created across the organised sector during last year’s festive period.
The hiring push, however, is spreading beyond the traditional metropolitan centres. About 45% of workforce demand is expected to come from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, including Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Coimbatore, as ecommerce penetration deepens and organised retail expands in smaller markets.
At the same time, employers in major metros are facing an acute talent crunch. Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are witnessing a shortage of workers of around 30%, with higher workforce mobility and growing preference for gig work making recruitment and retention more difficult.
This shortage is also pushing up wages. Temporary workers in metro markets could see wages rise 12-15%, while those in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are likely to command 8-10% higher pay during the festive hiring season.
“Hiring intent remains resilient despite a more complex global business environment,” said Deepesh Gupta, director and head of general staffing at Adecco India. He said domestic consumption continues to support demand across consumer-facing sectors, even as employers remain cautious amid geopolitical tensions, energy-price volatility, changing global trade dynamics and uncertainty in export-oriented industries.
The hiring surge is largely concentrated in familiar frontline and operational roles rather than new job categories. Retail sales associates, customer support executives, field sales personnel, merchandisers and manufacturing operators are expected to account for a significant share of demand as companies prepare for higher order volumes and faster fulfilment.
The nature of hiring is also changing. Employers are increasingly looking for candidates who combine digital skills with customer-facing abilities, while multilingual proficiency in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi is emerging as an advantage.
Skills such as adaptability, digital literacy and communication are becoming increasingly important across ecommerce, retail, logistics and BFSI, the report said.
Despite the strong hiring intent, finding enough workers remains a challenge. Nearly 80% of employers surveyed reported shortages in frontline and operational positions, with Adecco estimating a 10-15% gap between demand and available talent during the peak hiring period.
The festive hiring wave could, however, offer a longer-term employment pipeline. Nearly one in four seasonal workers is expected to move into longer-term assignments, suggesting that what begins as seasonal employment could increasingly become a gateway into India’s organised workforce.
The Adecco India report is based on inputs from more than 100 of its clients and supplemented by market research sources.