India to add 9 million gig jobs by 2025 says Indeed report

• The Indian gig workforce is expected to expand to 23.5 million workers by 2029-30, according to Niti Ayog.
  
• Gig workers are freelancers or contractors who work independently, typically on a short term basis for multiple clients.
  
• Door delivery, household repairs, driving, cleaning and personal care roles are top employers of gig workers in India.
  
• The top 3 challenges employers faced in hiring gig workers were poor interview skills, weak resume and language inadequacy.

Employment site Indeed revealed that over 9 million gig workforce will be added within the next three three years in India. Gig workers are freelancers or contractors who work independently, typically on a short term basis for multiple clients. Their work may be project-based, hourly or part-time.

The gig workforce is expected to expand to 23.5 million workers by 2029-30, according to Niti Ayog as well. Currently, about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low skilled jobs, reported Niti Ayog.

In a survey conducted in November 2022 by NASSCOM, Indeed and AON, it was revealed that after the pandemic, employers are keen to hire gig workers for a duration of 12 months or more. The share of Indian tech companies hiring gig workers also rose to 65% in 2022, as compared to 57% in 2020.

In some cases, gig workers are also being made permanent. In fact, a total of 53% of employees decided to absorb their gig workers as full-time employees, revealed the ‘Future of Workforce: Decoding Gig Workforce 2.0’ Report.

In terms of job roles, door delivery is the most prevalent gig role employers are hiring- 22% for food and 26% for other delivery. Additionally, 16% of the employers surveyed are hiring gig workers for household/vehicle repairs and maintenance and for cab/two-wheeler driving, 10% are hiring for cleaning and 7% for personal care service roles, revealed Indeed report.

“With the emergence of app-based models for roles like delivery and home services, there has been some degree of formalization in this sector, ” said Sashi Kumar, head of sales, Indeed India.

Challenges for gig job seekers

As per the report, people choose gig jobs that complement their lifestyle, and offer flexible work hours - which, at times, allows them to earn money through two income sources.

However, the study also shows that the biggest barriers for gig workers are lack of access to job information (62%), not knowing English (32%) and the local language (10%) for workers who have shifted outside of their home town for work.

In fact, one out of four employers also feel that language inadequacy is a concern when hiring gig workers. Additionally, the top 3 challenges employers face in hiring for gig job roles are resume and interviewing skills (52%), poor awareness of required skills and abilities on the part of jobseekers (51%) and the screening and assessing of jobseekers (37%).

Three out of five gig workers also find their jobs uncomfortable, if not hard and risky. Overall, Indeed revealed that its findings suggest more employees are not particularly fond of their work – feeding the notion of gig jobs being a short-term occupation.

The survey was conducted among 550 employers and 750 gig workers across gig app companies (which includes personal care services, cleaning services, household/vehicle repairs, food and other delivery, and cab/two wheeler-driving), HR consulting, retail, food & beverages, and home & office services.

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