Sweltering heat pushes up demand for temporary workers in rural markets
cooling products like air conditioners, refrigerators and fans, besides ice cream and beverages.
There is a 20% year-on-year increase in rural job vacancies, according to executives at recruitment services and consumer companies. They estimate 20,000-50,000 new temporary jobs are being created this year thanks to robust summer season demand in rural and semi-urban areas while companies with a large focus on rural businesses are looking to bolster sales and distribution presence in the hinterlands.
Riding on strong rural consumption, many companies are increasing hiring on behalf of clients for sales, services, manufacturing and retail roles, said executives at recruitment firms ManpowerGroup, TeamLease Services and Adecco. «Companies that make summer products expect to hire even more temporary workers because it's getting hotter in May and June,» said Alok Kumar, president, Manpower, a subsidiary of ManpowerGroup.
According to Manpower, there is a 20-25% surge in demand for skilled workers like AC technicians, electricians, and emergency responders for installing and maintaining cooling systems. «When there's more demand for cooling products, more workers are needed in every part of the process like making the products, selling them, installing them, and providing after-sales service,» said Kumar.
Consumer firms, facing revival in rural demand after 15 months, have stepped up hiring for core functions.
«To service these (rural) markets, we have been hiring talent from small towns and local areas. In the last
