India’s Gig Revolution: Blue-Collar Hiring Nearly Doubles in 2024

If you’ve noticed more delivery bikes and gig workers in your neighborhood lately, you’re not imagining things. Blue-collar gig hiring in India shot up by a whopping 92% in 2024, and the biggest reason is the explosion in last-mile logistics—think e-commerce, food delivery, and ride-hailing services.

 

Key Highlights:

 

According to a new WorkIndia report, gig and freelance jobs in the blue-collar sector nearly doubled compared to last year, based on almost 5 lakh job postings.

 

Delivery jobs are no longer just stopgap gigs. With the growth of e-commerce and quick commerce, these roles are now seen as stable career options, especially in smaller cities.

 

Cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata led the charge, each seeing delivery job postings more than double.

 

There’s also been a 63% jump in applications for gig jobs, with more graduates than ever applying, which shows a shift in how people view blue-collar work.

 

The report points to a bigger change in the job market, where tech platforms are making flexible, on-demand work more accessible and accepted.

 

For many outside the big metros, gig work in logistics is now a long-term career move, not just a way to make ends meet between jobs.

 

Experts say this trend is helping to legitimize gig work and is changing how people think about delivery and logistics jobs as real, respectable sources of income.

 

Source: Economic Times, Business Standard, Rediff Money