India’s festive hiring season saw gig and temporary jobs surge by as much as 25 percent from last year, powered by e-commerce, logistics, and quick-commerce platforms racing to meet peak demand ahead of Diwali.
The spike made 2025 the busiest festive quarter yet for warehouse, delivery, and dark-store roles, as companies planned earlier and scaled more aggressively to manage growing consumption across markets, data from staffing firms showed.
“We saw a 20–25 percent uptick in gig and temporary hiring this festive season compared to the last financial year, with demand broadly matching or slightly exceeding pre-season projections across e-commerce, logistics, retail, and delivery roles,” said Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services.
Moneycontrol had reported earlier that companies began ramping up hiring as early as August, anticipating tight supply in last-mile delivery and fulfilment. Those projections proved accurate as employers moved from short-term festive hiring to planned, sustained workforce expansion across both metro and Tier-2 markets.
How strong was the festive hiring surge this year?
The biggest jump came from warehouse and last-mile delivery roles, which together accounted for roughly 60–65 percent of all new hires, according to NLB Services. Quick-commerce platforms led the demand curve, expanding dark-store capacity and rider fleets to meet record order volumes.
“Much of the volume came from quick commerce and third-party logistics platforms where operational demand increased sharply,” said Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services.
But even with early planning, shortages cropped up during major sale weeks. Data from TeamLease showed that the gaps were “severe and concentrated during peak windows,” forcing companies to delay some deliveries by up to a week in high-demand corridors. Inventory was rerouted and surge staff deployed to keep priority orders on track before Diwali.
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Which roles and regions saw the most growth?
Hiring demand was strongest for riders, pickers, packers, and warehouse loaders, as order volumes climbed across e-commerce and logistics networks. While metros such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru continued to lead in absolute demand, the sharpest growth came from Tier-2 cities.
According to Adecco India, staffing demand in non-metro cities rose 21–25 percent year-on-year, compared to a 14 percent increase in metros. Cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, and Nagpur recorded the fastest growth as smaller markets became critical labour hubs for fulfilment and delivery.
“Tier-2 and emerging cities registered a sharper upswing, with staffing demand rising by 21–25% year-on-year,” said Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing, Adecco India. “These regions have become crucial supply bases as companies diversify hiring beyond metros.”
Did companies raise payouts to attract and retain workers?
Employers rolled out surge incentives and bonuses to plug workforce gaps during the busiest weeks of the season.
“Variable pay and short-term incentives were widely used, and in some cases, they were doubled compared to typical rates,” said Balasubramanian of TeamLease.
Data from NLB Services showed that companies offered surge payouts of 15–25 percent in delivery-heavy segments, while Adecco India reported that compensation improved by 12–15 percent for entry-level staff and 18–22 percent for experienced workers.
Platforms also offered referral and attendance bonuses to stabilise operations during extended festive campaigns. Adecco noted that female workforce participation rose 30–35 percent, led by customer support, retail, and logistics roles.
Are companies retaining festive hires beyond Diwali?
Many firms are extending contracts for high-performing workers to handle the wedding and year-end demand that follows the festive period.
TeamLease estimates that about 20–30 percent of the festive cohort will stay on, while NLB Services pegged retention at around 26 percent, especially across quick-commerce and logistics roles.
“This festive cycle marks a more sustained employment trend rather than a short-term surge,” said NLBs Alug. “Employers are increasingly viewing gig roles as a long-term workforce lever, not just a festive necessity.”
Staffing executives said dark-store networks are now running at higher baselines post-Diwali, sustaining temporary hiring through the next quarter.
What’s the outlook for early 2026?
Hiring momentum is expected to remain steady through March 2026, buoyed by continued strength in logistics, quick commerce, and retail.
Adecco India projects overall hiring volumes to grow another 18–20 percent year-on-year, while TeamLease said compliance reforms under GST 2.0 are improving cash cycles and supporting longer-term workforce stability.
“With GST 2.0 streamlining compliance and improving input credit flow, businesses now have clearer cash cycles and stronger interstate supply-chain efficiency, which in turn is fuelling steady, predictable demand,” concluded Balasubramanian.
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