Logistics, tourism generated most jobs in Covid-19 aftermath

Logistics, followed by tourism and hospitality, construction, information technology and telecom, have emerged as the top five employment-generating sectors in India in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease, according to an assessment by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

The five most popular job roles that have emerged on the basis of demand are courier delivery executive, housekeeping attendant, customer care executive, warehouse associate and machine operator, the NSCDC assessment shows.

The assessment, based on the data collated on ASEEM, or the Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping portal that was launched earlier in July, shows that between July 15 and August 7, about 64,689 jobs were offered to skilled workers who were either jobless or left without a job because of the economic slowdown and businesses shutting down after the coronavirus outbreak.

The pandemic and the ensuing 68-day lockdown triggered job losses across sectors and prompted an exodus of workers, mainly dage-wage earners, from the cities to their homes in the countryside of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.

While a little over 6,000 people had already joined work in different sectors, the NSDC is collating data on whether the remaining jobs that were offered have been taken up.

ASEEM was launched as a platform for assessment and hiring of the available skilled workforce and to bridge the gap between demand and supply of workforce.

According to a person aware of the details, based on the postings on ASEEM, jobs were offered in over 14 states that include Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telegana and Jharkhand.

“In many states people have already taken up the jobs, while others are yet to take up the offers. That data is also being collated,” said the person, requesting anonymity.

The highest number of openings were in the logistics sector, which includes services such as courier delivery, warehouse executives and packers.

Jobs in the logistics industry are most in demand with over 83,736 applicants seeking work in the sector, followed by tourism and hospitality, which attracted 42,310 applicants, telecom (28,088), banking and financial services (8,871) and healthcare (8,273).

These five sectors put together contributed 76.1% of total jobs posted on the ASEEM portal, said the person quoted above.

“Services industry is in demand with courier delivery executive, housekeeping attendant, customer care executive, warehouse associate and food and beverages steward making for the top five job roles. All of these job roles combined makes for 48.7% of total jobs posted in the current scenario,” the person cited above said.

States which had the most number of candidates registering for jobs were Uttar Pradesh with 13.7% of the total applications made till July 30, followed by Haryana (7.1%), Tamil Nadu (6.6%), Maharashtra (6.2%) and West Bengal (4.7%)

Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey said the ministry was using ASEEM to prepare a database of skilled workers, which will offer details oft their skills.

“Our youth will be able to play an important role in accelerating the development journey of India.To accelerate the self-reliant India and Skill India Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to connect the youth in the country with new employment opportunities; this portal will surely give impetus to our continuous efforts to bridge the supply and demand,” Pandey said.

Last week, a delegation of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh met Union ministers including Pandey who are part of the Group of Ministers (GOM) on employment and skill development chaired by minister of social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot and urged the union government to draft schemes to protect existing jobs in sectors such as agriculture and handlooms.

The BMS also demanded avenues for employment by designing migrant worker-centric plans that take into account specific sectors such as construction workers, street vendors and hospitality workers.