Advertisement
India's smaller cities are now the main drivers of hiring growth, with tier II and III locations recording a 21% year-on-year increase in September, outpacing metro centers. Cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Surat, Nagpur, and Chandigarh saw strong demand in e-commerce, retail, customer support, and festive tourism. Overall hiring rose 17% year-on-year. Metro hubs including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad grew 14%, led by IT, BFSI, and media sectors. Sales, marketing, and creative roles showed the highest festive-season gains, reflecting both seasonal and structural growth.
India's tier II and III cities are increasingly shaping the country's employment landscape, recording stronger growth than traditional metro centers. The latest Foundit Insights Tracker (fit), a monthly report analyzing online job postings on Foundit.in, highlighted that hiring in these smaller cities grew 21% year-on-year in September. This increase was primarily driven by e-commerce warehousing, retail expansion, customer support operations, and tourism-related roles linked to the festive season. Advertisement
Cities including Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Surat, Nagpur, and Chandigarh stood out as the top contributors to this trend, indicating a structural shift toward decentralised employment opportunities. Overall hiring activity across India also remained robust, showing a 17% year-on-year growth and a 4% month-on-month increase, highlighting that demand for talent extends beyond seasonal or festive-related hiring.
Anupama Bhimrajka, VP of Marketing at Foundit, observed that the September hiring trends reflect both the festive season boost and the long-term rise of tier II and III cities as talent hubs. She emphasized that while metro cities continue to show steady growth, non-metro regions are increasingly leading hiring momentum. This shift points to a more resilient, diverse, and geographically balanced job market, providing strategic opportunities for employers and candidates alike.
In metro hubs such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata, hiring rose 14% year-on-year. The growth was mainly led by IT, BFSI, and Media and Entertainment sectors, with strong demand for technology, finance, and marketing professionals. Compared with the same period in 2024, the festive season has generated higher hiring across consumer-facing roles, reflecting both seasonal peaks and the ongoing expansion of sectoral opportunities.
Analyzing job functions, Sales and Marketing experienced the highest year-on-year gains at 5%, followed by Customer Support and Operations at 4%. Creative and Media roles also rose by 4%, fueled by advertising campaigns, OTT content, and marketing activities. Technology and Product roles maintained steady growth at 3%, while Finance and Accounting roles saw modest increases aligned with festive credit and loan activity.
The Foundit Insights Tracker, formerly the Monster Employment Index, draws from a comprehensive analysis of monthly online job posting activity on the platform. It provides insights into sectoral trends, functional demand, and evolving geographic patterns, offering a clear view of India's changing employment landscape.
Source PTI
5th Jun, 2025
25th May, 2023
11th May, 2023
27th Apr, 2023
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
