This festive season, desi job market looks different

India's festive-season hiring is evolving, shifting from short-term roles to longer-term employment, according to a report by Indeed. Over 74% of surveyed employers anticipate retaining at least 10% of their 2026 festive hires post-peak season, either through extensions, renewals, or conversion into permanent positions, as reported by PTI.

This change indicates a move away from the traditional use of festive recruitment as a means to fill temporary labor demands during peak periods, with employers now leveraging the season to identify and retain individuals who can contribute beyond the rush.

Employers are also initiating festive hiring earlier, with more than half anticipating a rise in hiring from 2025, signaling a broader trend towards proactive workforce planning ahead of the busiest period. Sashi Kumar, Managing Director of Indeed India, noted that this shift allows businesses to build their workforce more strategically while still maintaining flexibility to manage heightened demand. Most notably, the festive season is becoming a platform to evaluate and develop a company's long-term workforce needs.

The demand for festive-season roles predominantly lies in logistics and distribution, with delivery executives, warehouse associates, pickers, and packers accounting for 29% of the projected workforce. Production, assembly, and packaging roles follow closely, representing 27% of expected demand. However, hiring for these positions faces challenges, with reliability and willingness to work irregular hours being the most difficult qualities to find in candidates.

Nearly 47% of employers cited these factors as the primary obstacles in recruiting for festive season roles.

Geographically, the expansion of festive hiring is moving beyond metropolitan areas. A significant 49% of employers forecast a growth in hiring for the festive season in Tier II cities, while 38% expect opportunities to expand in Tier III cities and smaller towns. This growth is attributed to the increasing influence of organised retail, e-commerce, and overall consumer demand, which are creating more workforce needs closer to emerging consumption hubs.

Despite metros still constituting a major hiring market, accounting for 38% of employer expectations, the shift towards smaller cities underscores the reach of delivery and distribution networks, which are establishing workforce requirements near burgeoning consumption centers. The report is based on Indeed's Festive Season Outlook 2026, which surveyed 1,277 employers and 2,569 employees and job seekers across India, representing a diverse range of industries, organizational sizes, age groups, career stages, and locations.