India`s gig hiring shifts to high-skill roles, tier-2 cities emerge as growth engines
India’s gig hiring landscape evolves from a volume-led opportunity into a capability-led ecosystem, with demand shifting toward enterprise-led hiring, Tier-2 talent hubs and high-skill remote roles, a report said on Wednesday.
The report from foundit talent platform said the broader monthly hiring market moderated in March, with the overall index down 5 per cent month-on-month and largely stable on YoY basis up 1 per cent.
White-collar gig jobs grew from 6.8 million in FY25 to 8.23 million in FY26 and are projected to cross approximately 10.2 million by FY27, while project-based hiring is steadily becoming a mainstream model.
“Large organisations are increasingly using gig hiring to solve for specialised skill gaps, particularly in AI-driven and senior roles where agility is critical,” said Anupama Bhimrajka, VP – Marketing, foundit.
She highlighted the rise of Tier-2 talent markets and the growing acceptance of remote and hybrid models, fundamentally changing how companies think about workforce access.
The report added that enterprises other than startups, are increasingly using gig hiring to fill specialised skill gaps in AI-driven and senior roles.
Growth is shifting toward AI-led roles, senior talent, and Tier-2 cities, with demand accelerating in high-skill, high-impact segments. India’s gig ecosystem is also becoming more distributed, with emerging hubs outside metros contributing an increasing share of the talent pool.
Tier-2 cities are emerging as the strongest growth engine for gig hiring, with their share expected to rise sharply over the next two fiscal years.
The jobs platform forecasted Tier-2 cities’ share of gig hiring to reach 38.8 per cent in FY27 up from 30.7 per cent in FY26, with Coimbatore, Vadodara, Kochi and Indore emerging as talent centres.
The rising share stems from growth in IT services, analytics, manufacturing, GCC-linked roles, digital marketing, and remote tech gigs.
Other fast-emerging markets such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, and Lucknow are also gaining traction across creative, consulting, analytics, and support roles.
