The logistics sector is likely to add 1.49 lakh new jobs in the April-September period of this financial year mainly triggered by the growing online seller base in smaller cities, according to the TeamLease Services biannual ‘Employment Outlook’ report for the April-September 2019-20. The report estimated that the logistic sector will witness a growth of 3 per cent adding 1.49 lakh jobs. The report was based on a research done across 19 sectors and 14 geographies surveying 775 enterprises in India as well as 85 businesses across the globe.

“Currently the logistics sector employs around 82.4 lakh people as of second half of 2018-19. The penetration of e-commerce companies to tier II and III cities has created an increased demand for talent in this sector,” Teamlease Services head of industrial, manufacturing and engineering vertical Sudeep Sen said. The sector is forecast to witness 14.19 per cent job growth. Railways, waterways, air freight and warehousing are the areas wherein talent absorption will be the highest, Sen said.

As per the findings of the report, with 31,480 new jobs Mumbai tops the list of cities with maximum opportunities for talent in logistics sector followed by Delhi with the addition of 28,510 new jobs in the same period. Tier II cities witness a huge rise of five per cent in hiring sentiment in the April-September 2019-20, followed by tier-III towns and rural areas of two per cent growth each, it said. Further, the report revealed that all tiers of the hierarchy in the sector, except the senior levels, will witness a healthy increase in hiring sentiment.

The hiring outlook for mid-levels is expected to grow by four per cent and the entry and junior levels by three per cent each, it added. The report said attrition rates in the logistics sector will not be that significant from the October-March, 2018-19, which was at 17.27 per cent. In addition, in the overall scenario, medium-sized businesses is expected to see a huge jump of five per cent, large businesses will report a growth of two per cent and small businesses by one per cent.