The staffing industry grew at 12.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the July 2022 to June 2023 period. It also witnessed a sharp 5.6 per cent growth in the April-June quarter (Q1 FY2024), registering a robust demand for flexi (contract) workforce, a report by the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) has revealed.
The apex body, which represents the manpower outsourcing industry, issued its report named 'Flexi Staffing Industry Employment Growth Report' for Q1 FY2024.
The report observed that the surge in employment was particularly notable in key sectors such as e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, FMCG, energy, retail, and banking. It highlighted that as of June 2023, the total formal flexi workforce employed by members of the ISF reached 1.5 million.
General flexi staffing (i.e., excluding IT flexi staffing) contributed to new employment growth at 6.1 per cent growth in Q124 (April-June 2023). This is highest in the last three quarters with a sharp upturn since the previous quarter.
However, IT staffing witnessed a slightly better quarter compared to past quarters, where it is showing signs of recovery at -4.5 per cent QoQ in Q124 (April-June 2023), the report stated.
Commenting on the Q124 report, Lohit Bhatia, the president of ISF, said, “This remarkable growth in new jobs signifies that, markets opened up hiring in Q1 after the last few quarters of slow growth. Therefore, employment was comparatively higher than previous quarters across sectors.”
Pramod Pachisia, ISF's vice president added that IT staffing witnessed a slightly better quarter in comparison to the past quarters. While the IT services continue to be cautious about hiring, the expansion of the GCC base has shown some green shoots in hiring.
"Although the numbers in GCC may not make up for the dip in IT Services due to high volumes. Markets are gradually warming up, and the impact from global developments definitely is an important event to watch out for as they continue to play a role with a caution sentiment in the IT industry,” he noted.
