India Jobs Surge 56% in Smaller Cities After Labor Reforms

India's smaller cities are experiencing a jobs revolution that's outpacing the country's largest metros, with some markets seeing hiring growth as high as 56% following new labor reforms.

The surge comes from recruitment platform WorkIndia, which tracked job postings before and after India implemented its new labor code framework. Overall job listings rose 8.4%, defying predictions that stricter compliance rules would slow hiring.

Kolhapur led the charge with job postings up 56.3%, while Udaipur saw a 55.3% increase. Goa, Vijayawada, Kochi, Coimbatore, and Raipur all recorded double-digit growth as companies expanded beyond traditional metro hubs.

Together, tier III and IV cities are growing at rates between 12% and 15%, signaling a major shift in where formal employment opportunities are emerging. These semi-urban regions are attracting businesses looking to tap new talent pools while managing operational costs.

Major cities still posted solid gains, with tier I markets growing 6.6% overall. Ahmedabad led metros with 19.2% growth, followed by Pune at 13.2%, Mumbai at 8.8%, and Kolkata at 8.9%.

The reforms also changed where people work. Office-based job listings increased 8.7%, while remote work postings fell 10.4% as companies shifted toward structured workplaces that make regulatory compliance easier to track.

The Bright Side

Women are seeing the biggest gains from these changes. Job postings targeting women rose 10%, compared to 6.3% for men, marking one of the widest hiring gaps in recent years and pointing to improving workplace inclusivity.

Salaries remained stable during the transition, suggesting companies are absorbing compliance costs without cutting wages. Experts view this as a positive sign that businesses are prioritizing operational adjustments over cost-cutting measures that would hurt workers.

WorkIndia CEO Nilesh Dungarwal pushed back against reform skeptics. "The narrative that Labour Codes would kill jobs was always backwards," he said. "What kills jobs is informality, lack of structure, protection, and scalability."

The data covers periods before and after the reforms took effect, comparing October through mid-November 2025 with late November through January 2026. The findings suggest that formal employment structures are actually creating more opportunities, not fewer.

Small-city workers now have access to jobs with better protections and clearer workplace standards, while companies gain the ability to scale operations with confidence in their compliance frameworks.