74% of employers expect to retain festive hires beyond the peak period: Indeed
53% of employers expect festive hiring to increase this year, while active hiring is starting significantly earlier than in 2025
India, 13th October 2026: As India enters the peak festive period, new Indeed data shows that seasonal hiring is becoming more than a short-term response to festive demand. Employers are starting earlier, building flexible workforces and increasingly looking at festive hires as a potential pipeline for longer-term talent. According to Indeed’s latest Festive Season Outlook 2026, 74% of employers expect to retain at least 10% of their 2026 festive hires beyond the peak period, through extensions, renewals or conversion into longer-term roles. Much of this demand sits across frontline operations, from delivery and warehousing to production, transport and fulfilment.
More than half (53%) of employers expect festive hiring to increase over 2025, but the bigger shift is how early they are preparing. Nearly seven in ten (69%) said active hiring had begun or was expected to begin by September, up from 34% last year. Meanwhile, 66% had begun or expected to begin workforce planning by August, a 26-percentage-point increase from 40% in 2025.
“The interesting shift is that the festive season is becoming a window into how companies want to build their workforce more broadly. Businesses still need the flexibility to respond to a sharp rise in demand, but they’re also recognising that short-term hiring doesn’t have to mean short-term thinking. When employers start earlier and create opportunities for strong performers to stay on, the festive period can become a practical way to discover talent that might otherwise have been missed,” said Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India.
The festive workforce is getting more operational
Festive demand is increasingly concentrated in the roles that keep goods moving. Delivery and last-mile executives and warehouse associates, pickers and packers lead expected demand at 29% each, followed by production, assembly and packaging roles at 27%. The pattern builds on FY24–25, when retail and sales (33%), delivery (25%), and logistics and warehousing (20%) led blue-collar hiring — showing the continued importance of frontline operations to the festive economy.
But employers are looking for more than additional hands. Nearly half (47%) say reliability and readiness to work shifts, nights or weekends is the hardest capability to find in festive applicants. That challenge echoes last year, when only 43% considered festive hires mostly job-ready and 71% said no-shows or attrition were common. The shift suggests that festive hiring is becoming as much about readiness as headcount. During a short, high-demand window, the value of a hire increasingly lies in how quickly they can step in, adapt to operational demands and reliably stay through the peak.
The jobs map is getting wider
Hiring demand is extending into more parts of India. Nearly half (49%) of employers expect Tier 2 cities to see growth as organised retail, e-commerce and consumer demand expand, while 38% see opportunities growing across Tier 3 cities and smaller towns as delivery and distribution networks deepen their reach. Metros remain important, with 38% still expecting growth to be concentrated in major cities. Rather than a shift away from metros, the data points to a broader jobs footprint as consumption and commerce expand across the country.
Temporary roles, longer-term expectations
Employers still need flexibility to manage the festive surge. On average, around three-quarters of expected festive hires will be in fixed-term, contractual, temporary, gig or part-time arrangements, with permanent full-time roles accounting for around a quarter.
But workers are looking beyond the length of the initial contract. 32% would accept a festive role lasting up to three months only if there is a clearly stated possibility of extension or conversion, while another 31% would consider only longer-term or permanent work. This preference for continuity has surfaced in earlier Indeed research too. In FY24–25, 83% of jobseekers said they generally preferred permanent/full-time employment over temporary or gig work. The findings point to a consistent priority: workers may be open to flexibility, but stability still matters.
More money isn’t everything
For workers, the value of a festive job goes beyond the immediate pay cheque. Seven in ten would choose an offer that keeps the possibility of longer-term employment open. Around a third (35%) prefer standard pay with a clear pathway to a longer-term role, while 36% would opt for slightly higher pay with some possibility of extension. By contrast, just 13% would take substantially higher pay if it meant no possibility of staying on. Predictability matters too: timely pay, the possibility of extension or conversion, and clear information on pay and working conditions are among the leading factors shaping whether workers accept festive roles. The message is clear: workers are not just looking to earn more during the festive rush; they are looking for opportunities that feel reliable today and could lead somewhere tomorrow.
“There’s an assumption that short-term work is mostly about making more money at the moment, but the data tells a more nuanced story. People are thinking about what they earn, but also what they walk away with when the season ends. If a role offers experience, some certainty and a genuine chance to continue, that can carry real value. It shows that even when people choose flexible work, they’re still thinking about the longer arc of their careers,” added Sashi Kumar.
Beyond the festive season
The real test of festive hiring may come after the rush is over. A workforce built for peak demand can leave behind something more lasting: people with new experience, employers with a better understanding of available talent, and stronger matches that may not have happened through a conventional hiring cycle. As employers plan earlier and workers become more considerate about the opportunities they take, the festive season is becoming more than a temporary spike in employment — it is increasingly a point of entry, discovery and mobility within the wider labour market.
