Amid the festive season, strikingly, hiring in India has seen a dip of 5.6%, as per an Indeed report. This is an unusual movement of the graph, as normally, this season is expected to be the peak gig worker hiring season, especially across the delivery fleet. However, this year the numbers seem to be subtle.
According to a recent report published by Indeed, this is alarmingly the second straight month of decline, which happens to be 20% down year-on-year. For a season that usually lifts hiring, the numbers revealed an unexpected cooling.
This aligns with a study conducted by OMAM, which found that a salary hike in 2026 is set to remain subdued as companies prepare for economic uncertainty. According to a People Matters report, the study projected an average salary increase of 8.9% for 2026, slightly below the 9.1% recorded in the previous cycle.
The Silver Lining
However, the Indeed graph also opens up another layer of the story. While several major industries have lost momentum, others are quietly emerging as the unexpected winners of India’s evolving job landscape. Some of those, as noted by the study, are:
1. Cleaning & Sanitation (+20%)
This may be attributed to the mounting government initiatives and programmes, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), which led to the construction of millions of individual and community toilets. This expanded infrastructure, along with a significant growth in sewage treatment plants and faecal sludge treatment plants, requires a larger workforce for operation and maintenance.
2. Community & Social Service (+17.4%)
India’s expanding welfare ecosystem, such as aged care, disability support, counselling, and public health services, is driving the rise. It signals a society investing more in well-being, community engagement, and structured support systems.
3. Dental (+13.1%) and Nursing (+11.2%)
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) reported that, according to the WHO, globally, there is a shortage of around 18 Mn workers. To bridge this gap by 2030, India alone needs approximately 2.7 Mn more professionals. Perhaps India is moving towards that direction with such hiring sentiments in the sector.
4. Food Preparation & Service (+10.3%)
This growth may be attributed to the upcoming holiday season. This marks a revival for the industry since its decline during the pandemic period. As dining-out culture grows and small-format food businesses expand, hiring in kitchens and service counters is picking up again.
5. Human Resources (+2.3%)
These numbers align with a study conducted by IMARC, which found that the sector is projected to reach $2,300 Mn by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 7.88% during 2025-2033.
These sectors show that even in a softening job market, services tied to care, hygiene, health, and people continue to grow.
Interestingly, remote work continued its steady rise, with 9.1% of Indian job postings in October explicitly mentioning ‘work from home’ or ‘remote’ options, up from 7.6% a year ago. The highest share of these roles appeared in IT infrastructure, operations and support, which made up 18.2% of all postings in the October 2025 quarter, followed by community and social services at 15.1% and industrial engineering at 14%.
Over the past year, remote work saw the biggest jump in IT infrastructure, operations and support (+4.4 percentage points), followed by installation and maintenance (+3.4 points). In contrast, the sharpest declines were recorded in veterinary roles (-2.5 points) and community and social services (-1.9 points).
The Indeed study further found that India’s job postings grew by 60% from the pre-pandemic levels. This signals that the market has cooled, but it hasn’t yet collapsed. In fact, compared to several mature economies — the UK (-22%), New Zealand (-23%) and Hong Kong (-19%) — India remains comparatively resilient.
Economist Callam Pickering attributed this resilience to India’s steady shift towards formalised work. “As more organisations adopt structured roles, contracts, and professional hiring practices, formal job creation is steadily outpacing overall employment growth,” he said.
This comes at a time when the Indian government is planning the formalisation of labour through the mandates listed in the newly reformed labour codes.
