India's flexi staff to grow at 22.7 pct to 6.1 mn by 2021: These reforms driving Job growth

India has emerged as the world's fifth largest flexi staffing market with 3.3 mn flexi workforce in 2018, according to a ISF report. The report further revealed that the sector has grown at a CAGR of 16.3% in 2018 which will further accelerate to 22.7% from 2018-2021, taking country's overall flexi workforce to 6.1 million by the end of 2021. With 1.2 million people added to flexi-workforce since 2015, further 1.53 million to be added over next 3 years, report said, GST & demonetisation were two key reforms to drive Job formalisations in 2016-18 and reforms/policies are expected to formalize around 11.03 million jobs between 2018-21 in India. 

The report also said that, current and imminent policies and reforms are expected to catalyse the push from informal to formal sector. Over 7 million jobs formalized between 2015-18 and 19.9 million workforce growth (formal sector) in 2015-18, includes shift from informal to formal. 

Unveiling the report, Rituparna Chakraborty, President, ISF, said, “With one million youth added to the workforce every month, India’s position and performance in the labour area is of both significance and immense interest to the world. 2015-2018 have also seen some of the most significant reforms and policy shifts in the space that seen accelerated transition from informal to formal employment in the same period. However, this crucial area was suffering from lack of data and validated perspectives and as the industry’s apex body, we took it upon ourselves to fix this gap."

India to have 6.1 million flexi workforce by 2021 and IT/ITeS leads adoption with 12.5% penetration, while Flexi-staffing has potential to be among the key job creation engines. The report also pointed out that government’s current agenda of job creation can be achieved by boosting the aggregate effective demand in the economy through Formalization, industrialization, urbanization, financialization and skilling.

According to R P Yadav, Vice President, ISF, “The report establishes flexi-staffing as a key job creation engine. The acceleration in momentum towards formal employment witnessed in the past 3 years clearly means the reforms are impacting and in the direction to create further job formalisation if the momentum is sustained or improved. The higher CAGR for flexi-staffing in 2018-21 also spells good tidings for the space which truly is well on its way to emerge among the top 3-4 markets for flexi-staffing worldwide in couple of years.”

The report is based on interviews with Heads of HR in 15 verticals -IT/ITeS, Telecom, BFSI, Retail, E-Commerce, FMCG & FMCD, Automotive, Manufacturing (Machinery), Manufacturing (Non-Machinery), Pharma and Healthcare, Infrastructure & Construction, Logistics Transport, Education/Training/Consultancy, Government/Ministry plus Media & Entertainment.