New Delhi, Sep 25 (NationPress) The festive season of 2025 is projected to create up to 2 lakh jobs, with an impressive 70 percent anticipated to be gig positions, especially in tier 2 cities, as revealed in a recent report.

The analysis conducted by NLB Services indicates that India's festive economy has always played a crucial role in driving consumer expenditure, and the year 2025 is set to redefine the landscape of employment models influenced by seasonal demand.

Starting earlier this year, the festival season is expected to yield up to 2 lakh jobs across pivotal sectors such as retail, e-commerce, logistics, and consumer services.

Compared to last year, hiring during this festive phase is projected to rise by around 20-25 percent. The surge is being primarily fueled by sectors like quick commerce and third-party logistics, which are benefiting from substantial investments in supply chain and last-mile delivery systems.

Of the anticipated new job openings, 70 percent are expected to be gig roles, whereas 30 percent will be permanent positions. This trend suggests that companies are increasingly adopting a hybrid workforce model to achieve a balance between flexibility and scalability.

“More than 35 percent of businesses are re-evaluating festive hiring as a long-term talent strategy component. Companies are investing in pre-festive training programs, reassessing their workforce diversity targets, and viewing seasonal demand as a testing phase for agile workforce models,” stated Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services.

Additionally, the report highlights that numerous large players in Q-commerce and e-commerce are likely to retain 26 percent of this expanded workforce beyond the festive period, indicating a permanent shift rather than a temporary spike.

There will also be a significant increase in hiring across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which are set to enhance their status as active growth hubs.

Cities such as Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Indore, Surat, and Nagpur are expected to experience a 30-40 percent rise in gig employment.

As these cities emerge as micro-fulfillment centers for retail and e-commerce, Tier 2 cities were responsible for 47 percent (YoY) of total gig hiring during the last festive season—a figure projected to climb to 50 percent in FY26.

“While metropolitan areas like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi continue to dominate demand in terms of volume, the genuine growth momentum is shifting towards Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where talent availability is robust, operational costs are lower, and attrition rates remain minimal,” Alug added.