1.4 million blue-collar jobs to be created in 2020, says report

The report said the facility management segment will close the year at 90 percent of the January 2020 demand levels, with close to 60,000 openings.

A total of 1.4 million jobs for blue-collar workers will be created in 2020, said a report by Betterplace.

The report by the blue-collar employee management firm said 80 percent of the overall demand comes from the gig economy. Gigs refer to short-term contractual roles that are linked to customer demand for products at a given period.

The Betterplace Job Report 2020 indicated that as the economy is beginning its recovery, sectors like delivery and healthcare will surpass pre-COVID levels and job opportunities will see massive growth in Tier II and III cities.

Among the cities, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad will create the most job opportunities.

The report is based on data of 8 million employees working with more than 1,000 companies. Betterplace said the findings are based on data collected over the first nine months of 2020.

When the coronavirus pandemic-led lockdown was announced in March, migrant workers moved back to their home towns. Several million jobs were also lost and pay cuts were implemented across sectors.

The report said more than 1 million jobs were lost and the total loss of income is estimated at Rs 2,467 crore per month.

Here, the report said 44 percent of the gig jobs have been lost, with a majority of drivers losing their employment. Further, 30 percent of the job losses came from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi alone.

The report said the migrant workforce returning to work due to the necessity of sustaining a livelihood expects a healthy,  safe and stable work environment.

Pravin Agarwala, Co-founder CEO, Betterplace said the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the blue-collar sector more than any other.

"With the onset of the festive season across the country, it is heartening to see governments and private sector employers rising to this challenge because they expect the festive season to pave the way for the recovery. Based on our report, we are already seeing green shoots appear in demand generation in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi," he said.