Gig economy to lead 80 pc of demand for blue-collar jobs: Betterplace

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Oct 1 : Tech platform for blue-collar workforce management Betterplace has said the overall demand for jobs in 2020 will be 14 lakh and the gig economy will lead 80 per cent of overall demand.
The economy is beginning its recovery, and sectors like delivery and healthcare will surpass pre-Covid levels, it said in a report based on data from the past five years, 1000-plus companies, 20,000 pin codes, 80 lakh employees and millions of data points giving insights into the ground realities, pandemic impact and concluding with the path to recovery.
"Job opportunities will see massive growth in tier two and three cities. Bengaluru and the four metros will generate 70 per cent of demand pre-Covid levels," it said.
The paradigm and reality shift that is poised to sweep across blue-collar ecosystem is expectations of job seekers and its impact on their employers.
The migrant workforce returning to work due to the necessity of sustaining a livelihood expects a healthy, safe and stable work environment. Visibility of guaranteed income and healthcare insurance cover is uppermost in the minds of the migrant workforce, said the report.
Pravin Agarwala, Co-founder CEO of Betterplace, said the Covid outbreak in India impacted blue-collar sector more than any other. Lakhs of migrants walking back to their villages which led to their absence in industry and our daily lives demonstrated how urban India is dependent on this workforce.
With the onset of the festive season across the country, he said, it is heartening to see governments and private sector employers rising to this challenge because they expect the period to pave the way for the recovery.
Agarwala said there are already green shoots appearing in demand generation in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. The report reinforces the fact that the jobs pipeline on the ground is robust.
"With the application of AI-based technology which matches skills and jobs, both job seekers and employers will be winners. As a result, our country and economy wins," he said.
The Betterplace report said one-third of the demand for jobs will come from three southern states -- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. The city-wise maximum job creations will happen in Bengaluru with 58,000 jobs followed by Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.
Whiel Bengaluru and Hyderabad are top destinations for job seekers, four big states are home to over 70 per cent of the migrants' workforce.
The top five cities from where the workforce reverse migrated are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai and the top six states from where the migrants returned are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
The report said facility management segment will close the year at 90 per cent of January demand levels with close to 60,000 openings and the delivery segment will surpass January numbers. The on-demand driver segment was the worst hit accounting for 44 per cent job losses.