The flexi staffing industry registered a 14% growth year-on-year in 2022-23, with 0.17 million new flexi jobs during the period, according to a report by the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF). This was, however, lower than about 0.23 million jobs added in 2021-22, when the industry registered a 21.9% growth.
Employment opportunities slowed down in the second half of the fiscal 2022-23, as the IT sector was impacted by the global slowdown and higher interest rates. However, the industry is seen to have s recovered much beyond the pre-Covid level.
“The surge in employment was particularly notable in key sectors such as e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, FMCG, consumer durables and healthcare,” said the ISF’s Annual Flexi Staffing Industry Employment Trend Report -2023 released on Tuesday. Women’s participation in the flexi workforce continued to account for 24% in FY23.
As of March 2023, the total flexi workforce employed by members of the ISF reached 1.44 million. General flexi staffing (excluding IT flexi staffing) observed robust growth of 15.3% in new flexi jobs during FY23, adding 0.14 million new flexi jobs across general staffing roles in the year.
However, the IT flexi staffing segment experienced a contraction of 7.7% in new flexi jobs year-on-year by the end of the last fiscal year, with a quarterly degrowth of -6% in the fourth quarter of the fiscal.
Following the second quarter, the IT staffing industry observed a gradual decrease in demand, which intensified in the fourth quarter due to geopolitical factors emerging worldwide. “Developments such as the US markets, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the impact of global financial markets had a massive impact on the IT industry. The repercussions of these events made it evident that companies are taking measures to align their capacity and focus on enhancing productivity to address market pressures,” the report noted.
According to Lohit Bhatia, president, ISF, the IT industry may see a few more quarters of pain and rebalancing but it is expected to pick up in coming months. “The remarkable 14% growth in new flexi jobs signifies that the worst of the pandemic is now behind us. The upward trajectory of employment figures is also a testament to the invaluable contribution that the staffing industry makes towards building a stronger and more inclusive economy,” he further noted.
ISF is the apex body representing flexi staffing companies and has over 120 members.