India Inc seeks 3.9 mn jobs for frontline workers in H1 FY24: Report

Despite ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, demand for frontline workers continues to remain strong in India at 3.9 million jobs in the first half (H1) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24), according to a report by workforce management platform BetterPlace.

Most of this demand was driven by the logistics and mobility sector, which accounted for over 50 per cent of the total demand, the report added.

This was followed by e-commerce, and integrated facility management and information technology (IFM and IT), which accounted for 27 per cent and 13.7 per cent of the overall demand, respectively.

Sectors which contributed least to the overall demand included banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) at 0.87 per cent, and retail and quick service restaurants (QSR) at 1.96 per cent.

“Our workforce trends indicate a gradual shift away from traditional sectors towards gig-sectors. Notably, sectors like IFM and IT, and logistics and mobility have undergone a significant transformation. Previously marked by high attrition, there seems to be a normalisation with fewer individuals leaving their gig jobs due to increased earning potential,” said Pravin Agarwala, co-founder and Group CEO, BetterPlace.

IFM and IT experienced the most significant decline in attrition rates, plummeting by 20.9 per cent between H1FY23 and H1FY24.

This, the report said, was largely because the sector contributed to the third highest demand for frontline workers. It offered higher salaries, which led to higher attrition among workers who were looking for a better paying opportunity in H1FY23.

On the other hand, BFSI saw the highest attrition rate between H1FY23 and H1FY24, rising by 28 per cent, followed by retail and QSR at 19.3 per cent.

Agarwala added that there has also been a surge in demand and salaries for manufacturing jobs.

According to the report, manufacturing saw the highest spike in salaries, increasing by 19.6 per cent from Rs 18,800 in H1FY23 to Rs 22,500 in H1FY24. This is largely a result of high growth in the manufacturing sector, driven by government initiatives.

Meanwhile, IFM and IT recorded the highest decline in salaries, with a fall of 20.3 per cent between H1FY23 and H1FY24.

The report attributed this to a “normalisation phase” after salaries increased in H1FY23 due to higher demand.