Contract employment is becoming more and more common in a variety of industries, including retail, e-commerce, and consumer durables. It first gained traction in tech-based companies during the COVID-19 outbreak. Contract jobs are being used by these industries more frequently in order to adapt to changing market conditions, grow operations flexibly, and keep up with the quick adoption of artificial intelligence.

According to recent studies, including an extensive report by talent solutions provider Careernet, contractual hiring is growing at a robust rate. Since 2022, the growth rate has been 15% compound annual growth rate. In 2024, there is expected to be a surge of 20–25% compared to the previous year, with Global Capability Centers (GCCs) expected to account for the majority of this growth.

Regional director and head of Michael Page's India technology practice Pranshu Upadhyay stated: "We've seen a lot of movement in contractual recruiting with the gig economy and project-based hiring. There is a significant need for contract hires in industries including consumer durables, IT, e-commerce, GCCs, and retail, especially for skills like GCP (Google Cloud Platform), Data Analytics, AI/ML, and basic staffing market abilities like operations and administrative activities.

Contractual hiring has grown by 22% year over year across all industries, according to Upadhyay, between March 2023 and March 2024.

With more than 1,580 main GCCs dispersed throughout 2,700 locations in several cities, GCCs have played a key role in this change, according to experts, since they have greatly increased worker flexibility. Furthermore, tier 2 and tier 3 cities like Lucknow and Indore are seeing an increase in contract hiring.

"The increasing trend in contractual hiring can be attributed to the changing nature of jobs and the shifting dynamics of the market," stated Anshuman Das, CEO and co-founder of Careernet. Employers are seeking candidates with specialized talents for particular positions so they may take advantage of their knowledge without requiring lengthy training. This is especially advantageous for international businesses and GCCs doing business in the nation, as it enables them to retain a lean staff while tapping into a varied talent pool.

In addition, it is anticipated that the number of contract positions in the IT sector would rise in the future. According to Careernet, recruiting for contract tech positions is expected to reach between 150,000 and 200,000 per year, with an extra 7-8% growth rate.

Karthik Sridharan, co-founder and CEO of Flexiple, stated, "With skills like AI/ML, internal teams often lack expertise in the latest trending technologies so in such a context, it is much easier to access an affordable expert who brings in contextual knowledge."