[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Even as the economy continues to grapple under the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, India Inc expects to start hiring blue-collar and entry-level workers with a spur in demand in hiring expected in Q3 2021, ahead of the festive season. India’s leading tech-powered HR Platform as part of its first annual “Employer Sentiment Survey” conducted in June 2021.
The survey states that 85 percent of employers say there may be an increase in the recruitment of blue-collar and entry-level staff ahead of the festive season this year. Of these, 40 percent were confident of witnessing a significant hiring surge in this segment in their organizations. Around 12% of the organizations anticipated continuing the hiring freeze.
The survey confirms that the revival in hiring will be led by e-commerce and ITeS with logistics and companies in food tech,back office,accountant,chef following close behind. Over the years, the e-commerce sector has consistently witnessed a surge in hiring of blue-collar workers in the second half of the year owing to the preparation of their festive sales.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a spread of wide unemployment. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, during the lockdown period, the unemployment rate in India inflated from 8.75 percent to 27.1 percent. On an average 120 million out of 170 million blue collar workers in the country went unemployed and were left with no wages.
Although the economy of the country continues to grapple while looking for the measures to stabilise, there is expectancy for the companies to start hiring entry level workers with an urge to work fluently for the festive season ahead. In fact, it is already witnessing an uptick in sectors like logistics and e-commerce, according to HR consultancies, which expect a further spike to come about as companies prepare to cater to the festive season demand. The vacant positions are mostly across roles in sorting, warehouse management, delivery, packaging, security, among others.
Life of Blue Collars Post Pandemic
Discussions around the challenges facing work from home have been around the corner in the past few months. However, hardly anyone talks about what life looks like beyond the white collar. The men in blue have been trudging around to keep organisations running while others trying hard to start earning wages post lockdown.
The stakes for these workers have been much higher than the ones in white. The impact of the lockdown and the subsequent downsizing has been felt harder by this workforce who has been disengaged in large numbers. Their low skill level coupled with the sheer availability of manpower to the companies further reduces their bargaining power. Though the understanding between the management and the workers of any category has been much more than before, hardships being faced by blue collar workers are beyond our imagination.
The Future Looks Bright
The lockdown has adversely affected the blue-collar gig workers. Many discretionary companies have shut down but the delivery staff is still needed in essential services. Now that the nation is moving towards the unlocking of the lockdown, it is expected that there will be an increased demand for blue, grey-collar, and entry level jobs. The internet companies seem to dominate this wave of revival as they bulk up blue collar jobs. Many of them including Big Basket, DealShare, Amazon, and Grofers, have already hired thousands of blue collars and gig workers in the past few months.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
