Corona virus Impact on Jobs, Are you prepared?

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has altered the employment sector almost overnight. The Pandemic has totally creased the economy and job security. It will have long-term, game-changing consequences as pondered over by the recruitment agencies. There will be sectors and workers that may derive advantage from this near-tragedy. Unfortunately, our country will also witness industries that will be severely affected. People in these spaces will lose jobs and face challenges finding new ones.

Our government has methodically asked us to stay indoors and self-quarantine to contain the coronavirus. Companies and their employees have totally gone working from home. Large get-togethers are not permitted. Due to restrictions and panic, people are not preferring to travel, take airplanes/trains, go/dine out, or attend concerts and sport events. And the current trends shall continue even after we contain the spread of the virus.

It is a pandemic that has squeezed the job sector in India, as the companies are planning to save costs. But a few job roles are in demand now that businesses have totally switched to a work-from-home setting.

Recruitment agencies are of the view that companies are still employing people for roles like pharmacologist, network engineer, cyber security expert, quality control manager (pharmaceuticals) as well as delivery personnel. These might be permanent staffing or temporary one, depending upon the requirement and industry.

Among the various sectors, the HR officials said that it is the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors that are still hiring workforce that includes nurses, hospital technicians and medical professionals.

When it comes to hiring, the sectors like grocery delivery and IT/Ed-tech are next. There might a large influx of temporary staffing in various industries.

According to a US tabloid, Financial Times, “Tech companies are still hiring feverishly as they move to take advantage of a world shifting increasingly to digital as a result of the coronavirus, despite mass lay-offs elsewhere and growing concerns over plummeting global markets.”

There are global giants with enormous amounts capital like Amazon, Apple, Google, Netflix and Microsoft that will have the influence and reserves to endure the pandemic.

There is a great demand of essentials and other stuff as the country remains indoors. And due to such an overwhelming demand, Amazon is hiring 100,000 workers. Due to the pandemic and necessary steps to contain it, people are generally working from home and are unable to go out, Amazon is the first preference for shopping. The company’s gain is the damage to many small-to-midsize merchants.

Department stores and malls will lose trade and shed jobs, as people are not stepping out of their homes. Big retailers are forced to close their stores, which ultimately results in a large number of retail workers to lose their jobs.

There are many other sectors which will be impacted and jobs will be brutally cut. Travel companies, hotel and airline industry, sport events, concerts and eatery sectors will be crumpled. International travel has been banned by the government, which has eventually made companies to prohibit business travel. Families are not flying/travelling due to the fear of getting infected.

There is a ripple effect, which will result in the sudden cessation of business and forced to downsize their staff members. Many businesses may not survive it and shut down.

Manufacturing sector is hit hard too. The three giant automakers—General Motors, Fiat and Ford have announced suspension of operations at their factories in the United States. This will have a big impact on the parts suppliers involved in the supply chain and the dealerships are facing losses as potential buyers are not stepping into the car lots. There will be job losses as the demand drops for vehicles.

The same goes for the real estate sector. There is an unwillingness for potential renters and buyers around. The possessors do not want to allow strangers in who may be carriers.

Basically, there is a lot of disruption and distraction in the businesses and with the lockdown extension, it is expected that hiring will witness a flattened curve, except for the frontline specialists like that in healthcare, sanitation, technology and psychology.