With festival season demand expected to be rebound strongly in India after two years of the pandemic, temp staff hiring is also anticipated to see a spike, reports the Hindu Business Line, citing staffing experts including TeamLease Services and the Indian Staffing Federation. As consumers return to in-store shopping, experts and industry players predict a sharp increase in temp staff hiring in segments such as FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), electronic goods retail stores, entertainment and hospitality, and also in e-commerce and logistics. Balasubramanian A, Vice-President, TeamLease Services, said over 500,000 short-term jobs are expected to be created this festival season.

The festival season is typically from 15 August to mid-January and a lot of hiring in these segments is understood to have started already. The demand for temp staff will not just be concentrated in metros but in tier-II cities as well. Meanwhile, Lohit Bhatia, President, Indian Staffing Federation, said, “Hospitality will be another area where large seasonal hiring will take place.” Hiring is expected to increase for e-commerce, logistics and delivery sectors and that is expected as normal during the festival season each year.

“E-commerce hiring peaks with approximately 20-25% additional hires during this period, whereas retail and consumer hiring might touch 30% higher than during non-seasonal peaks,” Bhatia added.