New Delhi: Despite global uncertainty and a cautious job market, demand for consultants and project-based talent rose 38% in FY25, outpacing an average growth of 17% in the two years prior, shows data from white-collar gig platform Flexing It.
Traditionally services-led, the freelance economy is now seeing industrial and manufacturing emerge among the top-three hiring sectors. Sectors like FMCG, consulting, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), and healthcare continue to experience strong demand, while the rise of core industries signals a broad-based appetite for flexible talent, according to Flexing It's annual trends report for FY25, shared exclusively with ET.
The shift towards project-based talent underscores a broader transformation in workforce dynamics. As businesses grapple with rapid technological advancements and evolving market demands, the ability to swiftly mobilise specialised expertise has become a critical competitive advantage.
"We are starting to see an increasing number of enterprises rewiring their talent strategies and co-opting independent and flexible talent programmatically, and at scale," said Flexing It founder Chandrika Pasricha. "Access to specialist skills, responding to opportunities with agility and flexibility, and building new capabilities are the key drivers of this change."
The platform features over 100,000 consultants spanning major business disciplines.
For the third straight year, technology (25%) led demand for freelance talent, driven by the rise of AI, data-led decision making, and digital transformation. It was closely followed by strategy and business development (15%), and finance (11%), reinforcing that freelancing is no longer limited to niche or tech roles, the report showed.
On the supply side, consultant sign-ups have soared 127% in the past two years, with 59% having less than 10 years of experience.
Professionals are choosing independence early-valuing project variety, learning opportunities, autonomy, and impact, over more traditional career ladders-a trend set by millennials and adopted rapidly by Gen Z.
"In addition to mid/senior professionals opting to leverage their expertise and go independent, the last couple of years have seen a surge in younger freelancers in skills such as technology, marketing and finance," said Pasricha.
The research shows that flexible work needs to be better leveraged to enable more women to return to the workforce. While 38% of new consultant signups last fiscal were women, there was a large drop-off mid-career, comprising those with over 15 years of experience. AI, on the other hand, is a big talent opportunity, and it's accelerating.
On Flexing It, 8% of all tech projects now involve AI, with a sharp rise in roles that blend strategic insight with technical depth.
While companies across sectors are grappling with the work-from-home vs work-from-office debate, remote work opportunity is taking off in a big way in freelance projects, with one in four projects now fully remote. With India-based consultants in strategy, technology, and marketing often serving global clients, remote projects tend to cluster around digital and strategic roles, where expertise, not location, is the real differentiator, according to the report.
Traditionally services-led, the freelance economy is now seeing industrial and manufacturing emerge among the top-three hiring sectors. Sectors like FMCG, consulting, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), and healthcare continue to experience strong demand, while the rise of core industries signals a broad-based appetite for flexible talent, according to Flexing It's annual trends report for FY25, shared exclusively with ET.
The shift towards project-based talent underscores a broader transformation in workforce dynamics. As businesses grapple with rapid technological advancements and evolving market demands, the ability to swiftly mobilise specialised expertise has become a critical competitive advantage.
"We are starting to see an increasing number of enterprises rewiring their talent strategies and co-opting independent and flexible talent programmatically, and at scale," said Flexing It founder Chandrika Pasricha. "Access to specialist skills, responding to opportunities with agility and flexibility, and building new capabilities are the key drivers of this change."
The platform features over 100,000 consultants spanning major business disciplines.
For the third straight year, technology (25%) led demand for freelance talent, driven by the rise of AI, data-led decision making, and digital transformation. It was closely followed by strategy and business development (15%), and finance (11%), reinforcing that freelancing is no longer limited to niche or tech roles, the report showed.
On the supply side, consultant sign-ups have soared 127% in the past two years, with 59% having less than 10 years of experience.
Professionals are choosing independence early-valuing project variety, learning opportunities, autonomy, and impact, over more traditional career ladders-a trend set by millennials and adopted rapidly by Gen Z.
"In addition to mid/senior professionals opting to leverage their expertise and go independent, the last couple of years have seen a surge in younger freelancers in skills such as technology, marketing and finance," said Pasricha.
The research shows that flexible work needs to be better leveraged to enable more women to return to the workforce. While 38% of new consultant signups last fiscal were women, there was a large drop-off mid-career, comprising those with over 15 years of experience. AI, on the other hand, is a big talent opportunity, and it's accelerating.
On Flexing It, 8% of all tech projects now involve AI, with a sharp rise in roles that blend strategic insight with technical depth.
While companies across sectors are grappling with the work-from-home vs work-from-office debate, remote work opportunity is taking off in a big way in freelance projects, with one in four projects now fully remote. With India-based consultants in strategy, technology, and marketing often serving global clients, remote projects tend to cluster around digital and strategic roles, where expertise, not location, is the real differentiator, according to the report.
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