India's festive-season hiring is increasingly turning into a pipeline for longer-term jobs, with employers starting recruitment earlier and expanding hiring beyond major cities as e-commerce, organised retail and distribution networks deepen their reach, according to a report by Indeed.

More than 74% of employers surveyed expect to retain at least 10% of their 2026 festive hires beyond the peak season through extensions, renewals or conversion into longer-term roles, PTI reported, citing the Indeed note.

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The shift suggests that festive recruitment is moving beyond its traditional role of providing temporary workers during the demand surge and that employers are increasingly using the season to identify and retain workers who can continue in their operations after the rush subsides.

At the same time, companies are starting their festive hiring earlier. More than 53% of employers expect ongoing festive hiring to increase from 2025, with the report pointing to a broader shift towards earlier workforce planning ahead of the peak period.

"The interesting shift is that the festive season is becoming a window into how companies want to build their workforce more broadly," Indeed India Managing Director Sashi Kumar said in the report

He added that businesses still need flexibility to respond to higher demand, but are also recognising that strong festive-season performers can fill longer-term workforce needs.

The hiring push remains concentrated in frontline roles that keep goods moving during the festive rush. Delivery and last-mile executives and warehouse associates, pickers and packers each account for 29% of expected demand, followed by production, assembly and packaging roles at 27%.

However, finding workers willing to handle the demands of peak-season operations remains a challenge. Nearly 47% of employers said reliability and readiness to work shifts, nights or weekends was the hardest capability to find among festive applicants.

The geography of festive hiring is also widening beyond metros. Nearly 49% of employers expect hiring to grow in Tier II cities, while 38% see opportunities expanding across Tier III cities and smaller towns as organised retail, e-commerce and consumer demand grow.

Metros remain a significant hiring market, with 38% of employers expecting growth to be concentrated in major cities, the report said.

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The expansion into smaller cities reflects the growing reach of delivery and distribution networks, with festive demand increasingly creating workforce requirements closer to emerging consumption centres.

The findings are from Indeed's Festive Season Outlook 2026, based on a survey of 1,277 employers and 2,569 employees and jobseekers across India. Respondents represented different industries, organisation sizes, age groups, career stages and locations, the report said.