India's festive hiring market is set for another strong season, but employers are finding it increasingly difficult to secure talent.
Adecco India expects temporary staffing demand during the 2026 festive season to grow 15-20% year-on-year, creating an estimated 2.5 lakh to 2.7 lakh temporary and gig jobs across the organised sector.
However, the staffing firm said around 80% of employers are facing shortages in frontline and operational roles, creating fresh challenges as businesses prepare for peak demand.
The hiring outlook builds on a strong 2025 festive season, when approximately 2.16 lakh temporary and gig jobs were generated.
According to Adecco India, demand is being driven by e-commerce, logistics, quick commerce, organised retail, hospitality, manufacturing and BFSI, supported by resilient consumer spending and continued expansion of organised employment.
Talent shortages emerge as a key hiring challenge
While hiring demand remains robust, talent availability is becoming a growing concern.
Adecco estimates a 10-15% demand-supply gap during the peak festive hiring period, with shortages most pronounced in major metropolitan markets.
Key workforce trends identified by the company include:
80% of employers report shortages across frontline and operational roles
10-15% demand-supply gap expected during peak hiring months
30% talent crunch reported in Tier 1 cities including NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad
More than 80% of seasonal associates expected to complete digital onboarding before deployment
Nearly 25% of festive hires expected to transition into longer-term assignments
Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing at Adecco India, said employers remain optimistic despite a challenging global environment.
"This year's festive season is seeing hiring intent remain resilient despite a more complex global business environment," he said. According to Gupta, businesses are increasingly balancing hiring needs with productivity, compliance and operational resilience while focusing on rapid mobilisation of talent.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities drive workforce demand
The geography of festive hiring continues to evolve.
Adecco estimates that 45% of workforce demand this season will come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, supported by growing e-commerce penetration, organised retail expansion and rising consumer demand.
Cities including Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Coimbatore are expected to contribute significantly to hiring activity, while emerging markets such as Kanpur, Kochi and Vijayawada could see 18-22% growth in talent demand compared with last year.
Employers are also beginning workforce planning earlier. According to Adecco, many organisations are initiating hiring preparations up to 12 weeks before the festive season, compared with 8-10 weeks in 2025.
The earlier planning cycle is helping businesses secure talent ahead of major events such as Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali, festive sales campaigns and the wedding season.
Logistics, retail and BFSI lead recruitment activity
Demand remains concentrated in operational and customer-facing roles that support fulfilment, sales and service delivery during peak consumption periods.
Sector-wise hiring growth projected by Adecco includes:
Logistics and last-mile delivery: 30-35%
BFSI: 30%
Organised retail and e-commerce: 25-28%
Hospitality: 25%
Manufacturing: 15-20%
The most sought-after roles include delivery associates, warehouse executives, sortation staff, retail sales associates, customer support executives, field sales representatives, POS deployment staff and manufacturing operators.
The company noted that hiring this year is less about creating new job categories and more about scaling proven operational roles that support fulfilment speed and customer experience.
Wages rise as competition for talent intensifies
Employers are also raising compensation and incentives to attract and retain workers.
Adecco expects temporary worker wages to increase 10-15% year-on-year, driven by statutory wage revisions in states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, alongside sustained demand for frontline talent.
Temporary wages are projected to rise:
12-15% in metro markets
8-10% in Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations
Beyond wages, employers are increasingly deploying attendance bonuses, retention incentives, productivity-linked rewards and referral programmes to reduce attrition during peak hiring periods.
Women’s participation is also expected to strengthen, with Adecco projecting a 30-35% increase, particularly across retail, logistics and customer support functions.
Festive jobs increasingly becoming a talent pipeline
The festive hiring cycle is gradually evolving beyond a short-term staffing exercise.
According to Adecco, employers are increasingly treating seasonal recruitment as a pathway to long-term workforce development. The firm estimates that one in four seasonal associates could move into longer-term assignments, highlighting the growing role of temporary employment as an entry point into India's organised workforce.
With hiring demand rising across sectors and geographies, the challenge for employers this festive season may not be generating jobs but securing skilled talent quickly enough to meet business demand.