According to the Randstad Talent Insights Report 2025 and The Times of India, hiring in tier-2 cities has increased by nearly 42%. Compared to hiring in tier-2 cities, hiring in tier-1 cities has only increased by 19%.
The rising stars within the hiring sphere include Jaipur, Chandigarh, Thane, Indore, Coimbatore, and Surat. For this year’s report, Randstad included Gandhinagar and Aurangabad in the list of tier-2 cities.
The trends in the hirings includes data from industries like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing and automotive, information technology (IT), pharma, healthcare and life sciences (PHL), retail, FMCG and FMCD, and energy and utilities, collected from September 2024 to February 2025.
“Our report indicates that tier-1 cities maintain a robust hiring outlook across all surveyed sectors,” explained Anjali Raghuvanshi, Chief People Officer at Randstad India. “More interestingly, tier-2 and 3 cities are rapidly gaining ground, emerging as hiring hotspots, thus reflecting the vast potential and widespread distribution of talent across the country.”
Among the industries covered by the report, BFSI seems to be leading in terms of hiring. Roles in investment banking, business operations, and business analysis have seen the most demand within the sector, while cyber fraud analysts garner more interest.
In terms of hiring, Bengaluru has emerged as the clear leader when it comes to demand in BFSI, manufacturing and automotive, retail, FMCG and FMCD, and IT. Mumbai is at the top for hiring in energy and utilities for middle and senior levels, while Hyderabad leads in the PHL sector. Within tier-2, Chandigarh has emerged as a clear leader across various levels and sectors.
While most sectors maintain a high demand for junior-level employees, the hiring for middle and senior-level roles has also seen a sharp increase across tier-1 and 2 cities.