With the Indian economy returning back to normal and with consumption levels at an all-time high, the country has seen rapid growth in the demand for frontline workers. In FY 2022, 8 million frontline jobs were created in India as per BetterPlace’s Frontline Index Report 2022. This report includes a comparative analysis between 2020 and 2022.
This report is based on the data collected by the BetterPlace platform from June 2020 to July 2022. A sample of more than 2.8 million data points was used for the analysis and inferences. The data provides a detailed view of the hiring, demand, attrition, migration, salary and upskilling trends among the frontline workforce of India.
Pravin Agarwala, Co-founder and Group CEO at BetterPlace said, “To meet this scale of demand and optimize the management of an unorganized cohort, it is imperative for us to use technology as the pivot which is currently a $80bn opportunity.”
“The next step for us involves making the frontline sector geared towards inclusivity, flexibility, and career growth. In the next 3 years, we aim to bring more women into the frontline workforce”, he added.
Some key insights from the report include:
1. More than 8 million jobs were created in the frontline industry in FY 2022. With rising retail consumption in a post-pandemic economy, Q2 of FY 2022 saw a huge rise in demand for frontline workers because of a rapid increase in jobs in the delivery and retail segments. E-commerce contributed the highest to the demand for frontline workers followed by logistics and mobility.
2. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and Tamil Nadu have the highest supply of and demand for frontline workers in India. Sixty per cent of the total frontline workers belong to these states and 65% of the total demand comes from these states. Mumbai has been the highest contributor and demander for frontline workers at 24.7% and 20.9%, respectively. There were no major migration patterns in FY 2022 which show that certain levels of reverse migration is taking place where frontline workers are finding jobs in their cities of origin.
3. Frontline industry continues to remain male dominated with 97% of the workforce comprising of men with only 3% participation from women. Lack of flexibility, long job hours, and the taxing nature of the jobs are some of the main reasons for low women participation in the frontline workforce. At 47.5% e-commerce had the highest women participation followed by IFM and IT at 39.5%. Manufacturing had the lowest women participation out of all the sectors.
4. Average monthly salaries have only grown marginally from Rs. 21,664 in FY 21 to Rs. 22,800 in FY 22. The logistics and mobility sector not only shows a high demand for frontline workers but also offers the highest average monthly pay of Rs. 26,484, followed by BFSI, IFM & IT, and e-commerce.
5. Interest for upskilling for frontline workers has increased substantially. BetterPlace saw a four times increase in active users for upskilling courses since 2020. Approximately 50% of the workforce in this industry holds at least a Bachelor’s degree.
6. Attrition still remains a major pain point for enterprises with industries experiencing an average monthly attrition of 12% across industries. Retail & QSR recorded the highest monthly average attrition rate of 19% in FY 2022. Attrition rates are closely associated with the salaries of the frontline workforce. January 2022 saw the highest salaries which was accompanied by the lowest attrition rates, while Q2 of 2022 saw a drop in overall salaries which resulted in higher attrition rates in Q3 of 2022.
7. Indian frontline workforce continues to stay young, with 25 years being the median age and 72% of the frontline workforce in India falling within the age bracket of 20-30 years. As the age bracket increases, there is a steep drop in workforce participation. Only 20.3% of the frontline workforce is in the age bracket of 30-40 years and only 6.3% of the workforce is in the age bracket of 40-50 years. The gig workforce seems to be younger than the frontline workforce with 48.5% of the total gig workforce falling within the age bracket of 19-25 years.
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