KarmaLife, a financial solutions provider for Gig & Blue-collar workers and LEAD at Krea University on Friday released a report titled GigPulse, to shine a light on the day-to-day work and financial lives of the Gig Workers. The current report is based on a detailed survey of 500+ active gig workers across sectors; including hyperlocal and city logistics, e-commerce logistics, flexi-staffing, food services, and FoS sales, who use KarmaLife’s platform. The report stated that 22% of gig workers are primary earners who support their families and choose gig work as a means of core livelihood, whereas 39 % are ambitious financial planners who co-earn with other family members and view gig work as temporary transition to a; better opportunity, the rest are dependents with no-to-low obligations who view gig work as a means to earn extra
cash.
According to the survey conducted, Gig workers are young with a median age of 27 years, out of which 37% are married, 29% with children, and 28% are migrants. 60% are motivated to work to support their family. In contrast, 18% claim gig work helps them earn extra pocket money. Pay levels, job security and flexible hours are the top 3 ranked attributes gig workers seek from their work environment. In terms of primary life goals, 29% aspire to be self-reliant, 27% workers want to attain career success and 25% aspire to advance their family’s future. The report also added that almost 80% of gig workers report on-the-job learning of; valuable skills though it is unclear to what extent these skills would help them progress in their careers.
Average gig worker earnings are approximately Rs 18000 per month, with assured pay models compensating higher on average than more flexible pay-per-task models. On the expenditure side, most workers report hand-to-mouth finances, with a significant portion of earnings focused on essentials (rent, groceries) and working assets (mobile, vehicle maintenance).Gig workers across segments reported a mix of deficits and surpluses in any given month, indicating they can benefit from access to flexible liquidity as well as liquid savings solutions. In a given month, over 15% of workers faced a financial deficit of Rs 5000 on average. Based on the survey, over 80% of gig workers do not own a credit card facility, of which two-thirds feel the need.6.6% have current or outstanding loans, 11.5% have active EMIs, and 26.3% borrow from the peers they work with. The report suggests only 25% are able to regularly save; children’s education and medical emergencies are vital reasons cited.*
This is a time-critical initiative to capture granular insights and build a data-backed narrative on the lives of a pivotal workforce segment in our
country. There is too scarce data on worker identities, household context, needs and aspirations, work patterns, financial behaviors and resilience mechanisms. Through this partnership with LEAD at KREA University, we hope to create a rich longitudinal data asset that can help the ecosystem at large said, Mr. Rohit Rathi, Co-founder & CEO, KarmaLife.
Sharon Buteau, Executive Director, LEAD at Krea University echoed we are excited to be collaborating with industry focused players to generate new intelligence on one of the fastest-growing yet most vulnerable worker segments. We find this especially relevant as India is on the cusp of implementing a new social security code that bestows first-time recognition to gig workers and promises them deeper social protection. We plan to leverage this database for further study relevant to policy actors.
Despite perceived financial vulnerability to contingencies that could impede their earning continuity, only 20% of gig workers see insurance as a
viable strategy; further, only 27% self-purchase insurance, whereas 43% do not have any insurance. However, 49% claim that COVID has made them rethink their insurance decisions. While a majority receive accidental insurance from employers, less than 3% get any pension benefits. This emerging segment is key to a flourishing labor force in India, to further help them grow, they require an enabling ecosystem to support them and provide solutions to help them be more financially resilient, as well as other aspects such as strengthening their career trajectory by means of upskilling and training.*