CHENNAI: E-commerce platforms employ over 37 lakh gig workers, followed by logistics (15 lakh) and BFSI and manufacturing (10 lakh each), shows the Economic Survey 2026 report.
It said that the gig workers’ number grew from 77 lakh in FY21 to 120 lakh workers, rising at 55%.
The gig workers represent 2% of the total workforce in India, and projected to constitute 6.7% of the manpower by FY30, contributing Rs 2.35 lakh crore to GDP.
The report on gig workers employment is driven by rise in smartphone penetration to over 80 crore users and 15 billion UPI transactions per month.
According to the QBUSE Quarterly Bulletin of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE), the unincorporated non-agricultural sector comprises a total of 7.9 crore establishments, employing 12.9 crore individuals.
The report also said that nearly 40% of gig workers earn below Rs 15,000 per month.
“While the gig economy is booming, income volatility persists, leading to challenges in accessing credit. Financial inclusion also lags behind for gig workers. They have ‘thin-file’ credit access, which remains a concern.
Platform algorithms control work allocation, performance monitoring, wages, and supply-demand matching, raising concerns about algorithmic biases and burnout,” the report said.
The rural workforce in the sector was six crore in Q2 FY26, indicating the significant contribution of unincorporated enterprises to rural economic activities.
Additionally, women represent 28.7 per cent of the workforce in the sector. A few recommendations suggested by the Indian Staffing Federation to bring gig workers to formal employment are reducing GST rate for staffing industry from 18% to 5%; revise Section 80JJAA with a women-specific slab and indexation to inflation; and encourage allocation of CSR funds for building hostels and support facilities in manufacturing clusters. Section 80JJAA provides a tax deduction to Indian companies for hiring new employees.