Gig and temp jobs surge 25% amid festive hiring boom: Adecco India

According to a report by workforce solutions provider Adecco India, there was a 25% surge in gig and temporary jobs between August to October, compared to the same period in 2024.

Female workforce participation increased by 30-35%, particularly across retail, customer support, logistics and financial services segments.

The overall hiring volumes grew up 17% year-on-year across key consumption-linked sectors, and this growth was facilitated by heightened consumer sentiment, attractive festive promotions, and wider geographic penetration. The weeks leading up to Dussehra and beyond saw a sharp rise in temporary staffing across retail, ecommerce, BFSI, logistics and hospitality.

Adecco further projected a 2.16 lakh gig and temporary jobs in 2025. And within just three months, the industry has seen a 37% growth in temporary hiring and 15-20% uptick in deployment of gig workers.

The momentum is likely to sustain through the wedding session and into March 2026.

Overall hiring volumes for Adecco during this extended period are expected to grow by 18-20% year-on-year, with Tier II and Tier III cities contributing nearly half of this demand, Deepesh Gupta, Director and Head of General Staffing at Adecco India said.

Adecco data indicated that cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, and Mysuru recorded 21% growth, outpacing the 14% increase seen in metros.

Newer markets, including Kanpur, Kochi, Vijayawada, and Varanasi, also emerged as significant short-term employment hubs with 18-20% deployment.

Retail and ecommerce led the surge with hiring up by 28% over 2024, as omni-channel retail, quick commerce, and online marketplaces expanded temporary workforce needs across sales, warehouse, and delivery roles, while logistics and last-mile delivery saw the steepest growth at 35-40%.

BFSI witnessed a significant rise in festive hiring, particularly for field sales, credit card and Point of Sale (POS) roles in Tier II and Tier III towns, up by 30% year-on-year, it stated.

Hospitality and travel rebounded sharply, with demand for front-office, event, and F&B staff up by 25 per cent, buoyed by festive travel and early wedding season bookings, according to the report.