India's festive hiring demonstrated resilience with 7% year-on-year growth to 1,27,080 jobs in 2026, according to the latest foundit Insights Tracker (fit). This marks the third consecutive year of expansion, rising from 98,120 jobs in 2024 to 1,18,750 in 2025 and now reaching the current level. The growth reflects a concentrated build-up in India's consumption and fulfilment economy, with demand spreading beyond traditional metropolitan areas. After growing 21% in 2025, festive hiring has increased another 7% in 2026, even as the wider white-collar market remains below last year's levels.
Quick Commerce emerged as the top performer with 18% year-on-year growth, followed by E-commerce at 12% and Logistics & Transportation at 10%, as reported by foundit. Travel & hospitality, media & entertainment, and retail sectors recorded gains of 6%, 5%, and 4% respectively. Meanwhile, white-collar gigs and freelance hiring grew 15% year-on-year, indicating greater use of flexible talent as businesses respond to seasonal spikes in demand. Operations & Fulfilment accounts for the largest share of festive jobs at 23%, followed by sales & business development (20%), customer service & experience (14%), and supply chain & logistics (12%).
Festive white-collar hiring remains distinctly early-career led, with professionals with 0–3 years of experience accounting for 43% of festive jobs, while those with 4–6 years account for another 27%, taking the combined share of talent with up to six years of experience to 70%. Hiring for professionals with 0–3 years of experience grew 12% year-on-year, followed by 8% for the 4–6 year cohort and 2% for professionals with 7–10 years of experience. At senior levels, the trend reverses, with festive hiring declining 5% for professionals with 11–15 years of experience and 7% for those with more than 15 years. As per Tarun Sinha, CEO of foundit, "Strong demand for early-career talent shows that businesses are prioritising agile, digitally ready workforces that can scale with demand."
The hiring pattern showed a significant geographic shift, with metros accounting for only 56% of festive white-collar roles posting modest 3% year-on-year growth, according to foundit. In contrast, Tier-2 cities grew 11% and accounted for 27% of festive jobs, while Tier-3 and emerging cities recorded the fastest growth at 15% and represented 17% of total hiring. Cities including Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Surat, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, and Kochi are experiencing increased demand during the 2026 festive period. The trend reflects the expansion of retail, e-commerce and distribution networks into regional markets.
The festive hiring growth contrasted with the overall white-collar hiring trend, which moderated 11% year-on-year in September, as reported by foundit. India's white-collar hiring market showed slight improvement in September, with hiring rising 2% compared to August and 7% over the past three months, though it was still 11% lower than last year. Early-career professionals remain at the centre of festive hiring, with businesses prioritising agile, digitally ready workforces that can scale with demand. As consumption becomes more distributed, employment opportunities are increasingly following the same trajectory, according to Tarun Sinha, CEO of foundit.
