Employment in food delivery rises 27% amid rapid expansion

India’s food delivery sector directly employed 1.37 million workers in 2023-24, up from 1.08 million in 2021-22, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3%, according to a recent study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and investment group Prosus.

- Suneera Tandon

It thus comfortably outpaced India’s overall employment growth rate of 7.9% over the same period.However, gig workers’ representatives said these numbers hide job distress in the gig economy, where food delivery workers work for up to 12-14 hours a day for low incomes. They said the fact the more people were engaging was in fact a consequence of rising unemployment.