In September 2025, the job market in small and medium-sized cities saw a significant boom, with hiring increasing by 21% and surpassing metro cities. This growth was driven by e-commerce, retail, customer support hubs, and festive seasons. Sales, marketing, customer support, and media experienced the highest demand.
Hiring Growth: According to a report by jobs and talent platform Foundit, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities recorded a 21% year-on-year hiring growth in September 2025, which is higher than that of metro cities. Cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Surat, Nagpur, and Chandigarh experienced a surge in jobs due to e-commerce, retail, customer support hubs, and festive seasons. Metro cities also maintained a 14% annual growth in IT, BFSI, and media sectors.
Reasons for Hiring Growth
This acceleration in employment in smaller cities is due to several factors. The most prominent reasons are the expansion of e-commerce warehousing and retail. Additionally, the establishment of new customer support hubs and the boost in the tourism sector due to festivals have also fueled employment. According to the Foundit Insights Tracker (FIT), cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Surat, Nagpur, and Chandigarh saw the highest hiring growth.
Anupama Bhimrajka, Vice President (Marketing), Foundit, stated that the surge in hiring in smaller cities is not merely a result of festive demand. It indicates that these cities are moving towards becoming long-term talent hubs. Non-metro regions are now playing a b and permanent role in the employment landscape.
Hiring Across Various Sectors
The report also observed an acceleration in hiring across various sectors. Sales and Marketing saw the highest growth at 5%. Customer Support and Operations recorded a 4% increase. Creative and Media roles also grew by 4%, particularly driven by OTT platforms and festive advertising campaigns. Technology and Product roles maintained a steady growth of 3%. Finance and Accounting sectors saw silent growth due to increased loan and credit demand during the festive season.
Continued Strength in Metro Cities
Although smaller cities saw more rapid growth, the hiring graph in metro cities remained b. Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata recorded a 14% year-on-year growth. This surge in these cities was primarily due to the IT, BFSI, Media, and Entertainment sectors. Demand for tech, finance, and marketing professionals remained consistent.
New Energy from Smaller Cities
This report clarifies that India's job market is no longer confined solely to metro cities. The demand for employment in smaller cities is continuously rising, making job opportunities more diverse, decentralized, and flexible. The availability of young talent in these cities is also becoming attractive to companies.
