Temporary hiring numbers are expected to be up during the Indian festive season between August and December compared to last year according to an article in Business Today.

A recent study by staffing company TeamLease Services said that e-commerce shopping is projected to generate a 25% increase in gig jobs compared to the same period last year.

The festive season in India kicks off with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which celebrates the birth of the Hindu elephant-head god, Lord Ganesha and is followed be a series of other festivals such as Onam, Navrati and Durga Puja, and culminating in Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, which signifies the start of the Hindu New Year at the beginning of November.

According to Alok Kumar, Senior Director – Global Accounts and Sales, Manpower (a subsidiary of Manpower Group said “The growth in hiring demand is more in the non-metro cities compared to the metros as retailers are expanding more into the mid-level cities in the country,” He added that there is a surge in both offline and online retail, and that in-shop demonstrators, logistics and warehousing roles, point of salespeople for BFSI products in malls are among the roles in demand.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, Managing Director & CEO - CIEL HR Services estimates that e-commerce may see an increase of between 12% to 15% while offline may see a 7% to 10% rise. “But remember that the offline retail base is huge, so even that number is significant,” he adds.