Demand for delivery jobs much higher than availability: Report

Even as e-tailing giants are on a hiring spree on the onset of the festival season, a report Wednesday said the demand for delivery jobs are much higher than the availability.

Job site Indeed in its report said there is a rise in hiring by ecommerce companies, particularly for temporary workers like delivery and warehousing personnel, to cope with the increased volume of sales in the festive season.

Among metro cities, Bengaluru has the highest demand for such roles among job seekers, making up 14 per cent of the national demand across the country, according to the report.

However, the city saw only 4 per cent postings of such job, it added.

Meanwhile, national capital New Delhi saw the maximum share of posting for delivery jobs, the highest in the country, but saw less interest from job seekers.

Other cities such as Hyderabad and Mumbai also saw comparatively higher demand for delivery job roles with respect to the number of available job openings.

With the average monthly salary for these roles being a little over Rs 14,000, the report said that young educated job seekers prefer this kind of work to other avenues that often require intensive labour and pay poorly.

Companies too, prefer talent that is trainable and readily deployable, it added.

"The job market is seeing greater numbers of part-time and flexible avenues of work, with a significant share of opportunities being created for employment in this manner. However, it is important to keep in mind that the gig economy may only benefit a highly skilled professional, who can offer their expertise while enjoying a flexible lifestyle," Indeed India managing director Sashi Kumar said.

It can be noted that ecommerce majors like Amazon India and Flipkart reportedly are likely to create about 120,000 new temporary jobs to service the demand surge.

Kumar said jobs that require a lower level of skills such as delivery jobs, often require putting in odd hours of work under stressful conditions.

He further said that such job seekers usually take to these job roles because they need a source of income, rather than for reasons of convenience or flexibility.

According to Kumar, the need for steady jobs continues to persist in the country, even as the global economy is embracing flexible work options and entrepreneurship.

Indeed in its report has analysed data captured from October 2017 to September this year.