Mumbai: India’s festive season in 2025 is expected to generate over 2.16 lakh seasonal jobs, a year-on-year increase of 15-20%, according to a report by Adecco India, a leading global workforce solutions provider.
This significant hiring momentum is being powered by improved consumer confidence, favorable rural demand from a good monsoon, and heightened pre-festive promotional activity.
Sectors such as retail, e-commerce, logistics, hospitality, BFSI, and FMCG are driving this uptick in gig and temporary employment. With key events like Raksha Bandhan, Diwali, Prime Day, and the wedding season approaching, employers have advanced their hiring cycles to stay ahead of demand.
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“This year’s hiring is more structured and agile. Employers are focused not just on volume but also on workforce readiness and faster deployment,” said Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing, Adecco India. “Our digital onboarding tools have helped us reduce average hiring turnaround time to just 17 days.”
Tier II Cities Emerge as Hiring Hotspots
While metro cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune continue to lead with a 19% increase in hiring, Tier II and III cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, and Varanasi are witnessing a 42% jump in demand. Emerging hubs like Kanpur, Kochi, and Vijayawada are also becoming key recruitment centers for festive hiring.
Key Sector Trends in 2025 Festive Hiring
- Logistics and Delivery: Hiring expected to surge by 30–35% as companies scale last-mile operations.
- BFSI: Significant growth in field deployment for credit card sales and POS installations, particularly in Tier II markets, with projected demand growth of 30%.
- Hospitality and Travel: Estimated hiring growth of 20–25% to meet festive season travel and event demands.
- Retail and E-commerce: Expected to contribute 35–40% of total seasonal job creation.
Women Participation and Compensation Outlook
This year has seen a 23% rise in women’s participation in seasonal roles, driven by growing interest in flexible and short-term employment. Compensation packages are also improving, with metro cities witnessing a 12–15% hike and emerging markets seeing an 18–22% increase.
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Adecco India: Hiring Outlook
Adecco India plans to deploy 8,000–10,000 seasonal hires from July to December 2025, with a focus on Tier II and III cities. The candidate pool primarily includes first-time jobseekers and experienced gig workers aged between 18 and 30, with a rising preference for multilingual, digitally proficient candidates comfortable with customer-facing roles.
“Festive jobs are increasingly acting as a formal entry point for youth and gig workers into India’s organised workforce,” added Gupta. “Nearly one in four festive workers from previous years transitioned into longer-term roles – a trend we expect to continue.”
Incentives Driving Retention
Adecco India is addressing retention challenges with structured incentive models, including joining bonuses, attendance-based rewards, and cycle-completion bonuses. These measures have helped improve festive job retention rates by 20–25% YOY.
By transforming seasonal hiring into a strategic workforce pipeline, Adecco India continues to support both employer readiness and job market inclusivity, playing a pivotal role in India’s evolving gig economy.
