Hiring For Blue-Collar Workforce In India Up 7.4% In 2023

A report released on Monday revealed that recruiting for the blue-collar workforce in India increased by 7.4% in 2023, with logistics, construction and real estate, tourism, and hospitality emerging as the sectors with the most promising employment prospects.

Kolkata emerged as the foremost metropolitan area in terms of employment growth.

Subsequently, Pune and Chandigarh emerged as the top-tier 2 cities that demonstrated significant advancements in employment prospects.

A cost-effective labor market, the expansion of the service sector, the expansion of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and urbanization are all contributing to the robust job growth observed in these cities, as reported by the global matching and recruiting platform Indeed.

“Hiring increased significantly in 2023, particularly in tier-2 cities.” “Organizations that are embracing new technologies in 2024 will emphasize to job seekers the importance of upskilling for a brighter future,” said Sashi Kumar, head of sales at Indeed India.

Blue-collar employers sought out Generation Z candidates in 2023, whereas white-collar employers preferred millennials.

41% of white-collar employers preferred to hire millennial recruits (aged 27-41) compared to 49% of blue-collar employers who preferred to hire GenZ candidates (under the age of 26).

Physical fortitude (83 percent) and digital literacy (27 percent) are both hard and soft skills that employers highly value when making hiring decisions.

“On the contrary, white-collar employers’ preference for millennial recruits implies a more sophisticated approach to tasks that might necessitate specialized knowledge and refined abilities,” the report highlights.

Additionally, the results indicated that employers are prepared to adopt technologies of the next generation.

42% of the employers expressed interest in initiating AI integration through incremental measures in 2024, whereas 19% of the employers reported having already implemented these measures.