WiT News | Week 1 | August 2020
Is the Job Market Open Again?
The last 4 months have been very difficult for most of us. Especially for students graduating this year and those who graduated in the last couple of years.
While it is good to face the tough times early in the career, it definitely depletes confidence and motivation amongst the youth. The desperation for money and security would leave them no option but to take what’s available. Covid-19 has in one way crushed the dreams of many young people.
The unemployment rate hit 24% in April and May but there is good news, it has dropped to 11%, in the last couple of months.
Businesses started hiring and here are a few interesting things that are happening in the job market.
1. RECAPTURING THE BLUE COLLAR JOBS
While there is some tension of an economic downturn due to COVID-19, here is a breath of fresh air. In a recent survey, OLX People has shown a promising and significant rise of blue-collar jobs in two of the key metros such as Mumbai and Bangalore.
Staffing firm Teamlease said it witnessed a 12–15% growth in job openings for delivery executives in May compared to April, which has further increased by 18–20% in June.
This comes at a time when internet companies including Amazon, Grofers, Big Basket, and DealShare have already hired thousands of blue-collar and gig workers in the past month.
Some of these companies were offering workers three-times their previous salaries and an additional 15% incentive compared to levels before the pandemic. They were also being handed out flight tickets and were being virtually onboarded, experts tracking the space said.
Blue-collar job, which saw a dip in April, recorded a 108% jump in applications and 36% growth in availability in May compared to April, according to a report by job portal QuikrJobs.
2. Get Ready for Virtual Hiring Process
The outbreak of COVID-19 has left the hiring process frozen thick. While individuals are worried about landing jobs or re-starting their careers, companies have been put in a dilemma as to how they go about with the recruitment process.
The study, titled ‘The Hiring Outlook in India’ reveals that companies from e-commerce, IT/ITeS, services, science and technology, and telecommunications sectors exhibit a higher readiness (82%) for virtual hiring.
More than half the decision-makers surveyed expect hiring to become fully active after January 2021. It is expected to take up to April 2021 for hiring to be at par with that of April 2020. Furthermore, 43% of organizations expect their hiring to become fully active from January while 12% expect it from April 2021.
While campus hiring will witness a decline in the overall hiring volume, it is not going to be very high. The campus hiring cycle this year is anticipated to be longer and no.
3. Upskilling to Help in Optimistic Recovery
The economic downturn has urged businesses to innovate their offerings to lead through change, thereby stimulating job creation across sectors. Alongside as the job seekers continue to work towards career progression some of them have already laid out clear plans for their future and are working to upskill today for a safer tomorrow, making us optimistic about better job security in a COVID free India.
