Staffing firms such as Quess, CIEL HR Services, TeamLease Services and ManpowerGroup told ET that demand for temporary workers is soaring, led by sectors such as quick commerce, e-commerce, consumer durables and electronics, hospitality, FMCG & retail, logistics and manufacturing. These firms, along with others like Randstad, are expecting the industry to grow by 10-20% in summer 2025 over last year, and at individual company levels, between 10% and 65%.
With the weather office issuing heatwave alerts for many regions, the demand for AC and refrigerator support service is set to rise, apart from the need for delivery workers as people choose convenience and order in more, especially during the upcoming Indian Premier League.
The June quarter is expected to see demand for more than 100,000 temporary and gig workers for summer-specific roles, according to estimates.
“Overall, temp hiring across sectors this summer is expected to reach 35,000-40,000 between March and June 2025,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR.
“These estimates are for temp jobs on fixed-term contracts; besides these, we anticipate the creation of gig jobs which could be up to three times these numbers,” said CIEL HR’s Mishra.
“Temp hiring across sectors for the summer season has seen a remarkable increase, rising by approximately 65% for us compared to last year,” said Mishra. “This surge is setting a new benchmark for summer-driven demand.”
Companies noted intensified hiring across sectors.
While consumer durables and electronics, e-commerce and quick-commerce, logistics, retail, and FMCG sectors are preparing for increased consumer activity, education and edtech firms are gearing up for peak enrolment periods. Tourism is expected to sustain its strong post-pandemic demand momentum.
Overlap of the IPL with peak summer demand will also significantly boost quick commerce delivery volumes, fuelling the need for delivery executives, warehouse associates, and customer support representatives.
The summer of 2025 is set to witness one of the highest seasonal hiring spikes in recent years, said Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease. “Industries such as logistics, e-commerce, Q-commerce, manufacturing, and retail are leading in aggressive hiring efforts. This trend is driven by increased consumer demand, technological advancements, and the need for efficient supply chain management,” he said.
Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Samsung, Whirlpool, Voltas, Panasonic are among companies looking to ramp up seasonal hiring, said industry officials. Most in demand are delivery, in-store, on-ground, after-sales service, and manufacturing workers for industries producing summer goods.
“The demand for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) technicians, appliance repair specialists, and field service engineers is rising due to increased sales of cooling appliances and the necessity for maintenance services during peak usage periods. Similarly, chefs, kitchen staff, and hotel front desk personnel are in high demand as the catering and hospitality sector capitalises on the influx of tourists and seasonal events,” said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, professional talent solutions at talent company Randstad India.
Lohit Bhatia, president, workforce management at Quess Corp, said this summer is expected to experience heightened demand for temporary workers in roles such as AC technicians, delivery services, retail, and after-sales support.
“In 2024, India witnessed a record surge in temporary summer job opportunities, driven by increased activity in sectors like consumer durables, retail, e-commerce, logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, and banking. Building on this momentum, projections for 2025 indicate continued growth in temporary staffing,” Bhatia added.
Companies, meanwhile, pointed out that soaring demand along with high attrition is triggering supply-side challenges. This is leading them to woo workers with competitive incentives such as performance bonuses and flexible work arrangements and even cooling allowances for outdoor roles to attract and retain top talent, said Giri at Randstad India.
“Some companies in the e-comm space have tried offering joining bonuses. Usually, the trend is to offer attractive outcome-based incentives/bonuses — for example, some special incentives linked to the number of deliveries done in a day are offered,” said Prashant Pandey, president, manpower staffing at ManpowerGroup India.