Nearly 700,000 new gig jobs are expected to be created across India ahead of the festive season, reports The New Indian Express, citing a TeamLease Services report. The report has forecasted about 400,000 new gig jobs across South Indian cities alone in the ecommerce sector. Bengaluru (40%), followed by Chennai (30%) and Hyderabad (30%) will see the majority of the demand.

While the demand for gig workers during the festive season will remain high across tier-1 cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, it will also extend to tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Coimbatore, Kochi and Mysore. Companies will hire across primary functions like warehouse operations (30%), last-mile delivery personnel (60%) and call centre operators (10%).

Balasubramanian A, Vice President and Business Head at Teamlease Services said, “Over the last quarter, several prominent e-commerce players have announced their bullish plans for this festive season.” The growth synergy in the sector is influenced by the shift in the consumer demographic, FDI (foreign direct investment), among other things.

“South is a front runner and will see quite interesting trends,” Balasubramanian A said. “In south (India), gig jobs this year have increased by 30% as against last year.” Ecommerce firm Flipkart is gearing up to mark the 10th edition of its annual flagship event, The Big Billion Days, and Flipkart said it will generate over 100,000 new job opportunities across its supply chain, including fulfilment centres.