Amidst the global macroeconomic headwinds, the demand for frontline workers has declined by 17.5% from 8 million in FY22 to 6.6 million in FY23, according to the 2023 frontline index report by SaaS-platform BetterPlace. The report, however, says that gig work is on the rise as more and more enterprises are looking to variablise their workforce costs.

“Roles like sales/business development, delivery boy, helper/housekeeping and operation executive are the most sought after by frontline workers. All of these jobs can be attributed to the top 3 industries that are hiring frontline workers the most,” says BetterPlace.

According to the report, e-commerce was the highest contributor to frontline worker employment in FY22 but has reduced significantly in FY23. The dominance of the e-commerce sector, says the report, has been replaced by the logistics and mobility and financial management and IT sectors, which collectively contribute to more than 61% of the new jobs created.

Nonetheless, e-commerce continues to be the highest employer of women frontline workers in FY23, contributing to 64% of the total women workers employed, according to the report.

According to the report, the year under review witnessed a 100% increase in the women participation ratio in the frontline workforce as compared to FY22. “This is largely because of the changing perceptions around working women,” says the report.

In terms of age group, 66% of the frontline workers are youth between the age group 20-30 years. The workers between the age group 30-40 years, however, are rapidly growing at the rate of 25% year-on-year (YoY). Almost 70% of frontline workers have access to smartphones, says the report, with a 3% increase in smartphone penetration in this workforce as compared to FY22.

Meanwhile, the average monthly attrition for frontline workers was 15% in FY23. In FY23, November witnessed the highest monthly attrition rate at 23%. “Attrition seems to go up during the festive season where the demand for frontline workers increases,” says the report.

As per the report, logistics & mobility, e-commerce and retail & QSR have the highest attrition rate of 22%, 19% and 15% respectively. “Hectic nature of jobs, easy replaceability and increasing demand for workers particularly in the above-mentioned industries could be the reason for frequent job switches/exits,” says the report.

With an increase in the country’s headline inflation, the average monthly salary of frontline workers has slipped by 4.5% to ₹21,700 in FY23 from ₹22,800 in FY22. Of this, the average salary for women frontline workers was 20.5% lower than the industry average salary. The average salary for women frontline workers in logistics & mobility, and manufacturing was 20% and 36%, respectively higher than the industry average.

Amongst sectors, international financial management and IT services offered the highest average salary of ₹25,700. “

Logistics and Mobility

Demand for frontline jobs declines by 17.5% in FY23: Report