Rising fuel costs drive Indian gig workers toward predictable earnings and lower expenses

Rising fuel and vehicle operating costs are making India's gig workers more selective about the jobs they take, with many opting for roles that offer predictable earnings or lower running costs. This is prompting employers to expand incentives, EV-linked opportunities and fixed-pay jobs to attract and retain delivery workers, recruitment experts said.

The available talent pool for delivery-based gig roles has contracted by 5-10% over the past four months, said Deepesh Gupta, head of business, general staffing, at Adecco India. This does not mean workers are becoming unemployed. Instead, they are moving into manufacturing, warehousing, retail and sales jobs that offer more predictable earnings or lower work-related costs, he said. "Gig workers are highly mobile and typically transition across frontline sectors based on overall income potential and job viability," Gupta said.

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Apna.co's data show that job postings in delivery, driver and logistics roles rose 60% year-on-year in the first quarter of FY27, while vacancies offering lower operating costs or greater income certainty saw much stronger growth. Electric vehicle-related job postings surged 593% year-on-year, warehouse jobs grew 91% and fixed-pay opportunities expanded 205%.

More significantly, these jobs attracted much greater interest from candidates. EV postings received 62.5% more candidates per opening than the overall delivery segment, fixed-pay roles 244% more, and warehouse jobs 350% more, Apna data showed. "For workers...the distinction between headline earning potential and guaranteed income is becoming increasingly important," Kartik Narayan, chief executive of jobs marketplace at Apna.co, said.

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Petrol prices have risen by around ₹7.5 a litre since the Iran-US conflict began in February, increasing operating expenses on home delivery services, which delivery partners bear themselves in most cases.

Putting further pressure on such workers, union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari told parliament last month that ethanol blending in petrol can reduce fuel efficiency by 2-6%, depending on the vehicle and its age.

For employers, this is raising the cost of keeping delivery workers on the road. Employers of gig workers, including Flipkart, Eternal, Swiggy and Uber India, had not responded to ET's email queries until press time on Saturday.