 "Decline in IT staffing slows flexi employment in third quarter: ISF")
Growth in fresh employment generation within the flexible (flexi) staffing industry slowed to 3.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) in Q3 of FY24, from 6 per cent in the earlier quarter. The slowdown in flexi staffing was attributed to a decline in the staffing requirements of the information technology (IT) sector during the quarter, the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) said in its quarterly flexi staffing industry report on Monday.
The report titled ‘Flexi-Staffing Industry Staffing’, examines hiring trends in jobs involving short-term contracts for specific tasks across various sectors. The ISF represents firms engaged in formal staffing in key sectors such as e-commerce, retail, fast-moving consumer goods, logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, aviation, and energy.
Staffing in the IT sector witnessed a decline from past quarters in Q3 2023-24 to -0.4 per cent as compared to 1.5 per cent in Q2.
Lohit Bhatia, president, ISF says, the IT and ITes industries, particularly IT services industry, have had tepid hiring in the recent past.
“While GCC and IT dept of non IT companies have been adding new workforce including staffing from ISF companies, it has been seen that their increase has not yet overtaken the decline of IT services companies. Thus, overall, the net addition to staffing employment declines during the quarter. IT services have been particularly impacted by slower offtake due to international projects, geo political impact and margin pressures for clients and IT services companies,” Bhatia said.
On the other hand, staffing employment in other sectors grew at 3.8 per cent Q-o-Q in Q3 of FY24, from 6.1 per cent in Q2, primarily driven by demands from e-commerce, retail, logistics, manufacturing, FMCG, hospitality, tourism and aviation.
More From This Section
The ISF comprising more than 100 members represents flexi staffing companies and is formed to provide a platform for recognized employment, work choice and social security benefits for the temporary workforce that constitutes a sizable segment of India’s total workforce.
Flexi staffing employment growth rate (Q-o-Q)
| Quarter | Growth rate (%) |
| Q1 FY 23 | 6.6 |
| Q2 FY23 | 7.1 |
| Q3 FY23 | -0.2 |
| Q4 FY23 | 0.4 |
| Q1 FY 24 | 5.8 |
| Q2 FY24 | 6 |
| Q3 FY24 | 3.8 |
Source: ISF