Festive hiring in India is set to grow 15% to 20% in the second half of 2026, with demand spreading well beyond the metros into tier II and tier III cities, according to staffing-sector reports.
A report by NLB Services estimates the season will generate around 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh seasonal and gig roles across e-commerce, quick commerce, retail, logistics, hospitality, travel and consumer services. It projects that tier II and tier III cities will account for about 45% of total festive hiring demand, with recruitment in those markets growing 25% to 30%.
Cities including Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Surat, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Kochi are expected to see stronger demand as e-commerce, organised retail and regional fulfilment networks expand into non-metro India.
“The festive season is becoming a real-time stress test for India’s workforce, and the results are pointing to a fundamental shift,” said Varun Sachdeva, SVP and APAC Head, NLB Services, pointing to a change in how employers plan for the peak.
The shift is not only about scale but about timing and structure. Businesses are moving away from last-minute, volume-led recruitment towards planned workforce build-out, with preparations beginning nearly 12 to 14 weeks before the festive peak.
A separate TeamLease Services report also placed festive hiring growth at 15% to 20% and flagged the same non-metro pull, while noting a rising demand for specialised frontline roles such as quick-commerce dark-store associates and fulfilment coordinators.
