The ongoing General Elections 2024 will create up to nine lakh temporary jobs across different roles due to hustings, industry experts have predicted as per a PTI report.
The first phase of General Elections was held on April 19 with 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs (Union Territories) going to polls and the last phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held on June 1.
"The exact number of temporary jobs created during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections across the country would depend on various factors such as the scale of the election, the number of polling stations, and the requirements of election-related activities. However, on our platform, we anticipate at least nine lakh jobs during the elections," WorkIndia CEO and co-founder Nilesh Dungarwal told PTI.
The temporary jobs created during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections encompass a diverse range of roles catering to different aspects of the electoral process, he said.
Some common positions include polling booth officials, election clerks, security personnel, data entry operators, transportation coordinators, and administrative staff, which are crucial for ensuring the smooth functioning of the electoral process and maintaining transparency throughout the elections, he said.
"During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, job roles that saw a significant increase on our platform were accounting (80 per cent), data entry jobs (64 per cent), security personnel (86 per cent), back office (70 per cent), delivery, drivers, field sales and retail (65 per cent), manual jobs (82 per cent), content writing (67 per cent) among others," he added.
Similarly, TeamLease Services CEO - Staffing, Kartik Narayan said considering the vast scale of the upcoming elections, it is anticipated that a significant number of temporary positions will be created.
"With over a million polling booths across India, each booth is expected to employ at least 1-2 temporary gig workers for the duration of the electoral process," he told PTI.
When asked if these temporary jobs affect the job market, he said, the emergence of temporary employment opportunities during elections can transiently influence sectors accustomed to fostering such employment, notably logistics and e-commerce.
"This effect is particularly pronounced during the summer season, characterised by heightened consumer demand for durable goods, which may intensify competition for labour with similar skill sets. Nevertheless, this impact tends to be localised and short-lived, given that election-related operations typically unfold over a brief timeframe and generally do not substantially disrupt broader employment patterns within these sectors," he stated.
The majority of these roles will remain active until the completion of the election process in each respective location, he added.
Genius Consultants CMD RP Yadav said a significant workforce of over 1,00,000 temporary workers are required, who are needed to handle various tasks including food catering, maintaining vehicles, schedules, managing campaign materials like posters and microphones, and assisting in the construction of meeting podiums and barricades.
Electricians, cleaners, social media campaigners, event managers, content writers, content creators, among others, are some of the jobs that are in high demand during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Yadav said.
