General Elections 2024 generate up to 900,000 temporary jobs: Experts

As the country goes through general elections, industry experts say up to 9 lakh temporary jobs are expected to have been created across different roles due to the hustings.

The first phase of general elections was held on April 19 with 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs going to polls. 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 9 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.

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.

"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.

Echoing the view, CIEL HR Director and CEO Aditya Narayan Mishra said that over the past six months it is estimated that about 2,00,000 temporary positions have emerged as contestants prepare for the upcoming elections.

These roles span various sectors crucial for election preparation such as data analysis, planning, public relations, market survey, media relations, content design, content marketing, social media marketing, AI strategies and project management, he said.

"As the campaigning activities pick up, for a window of 8-13 weeks, until the end of the polls in the respective constituencies, we expect a huge pick-up of activities for event management, printing, transportation, food and beverages, catering, security, IT network management and analytics. The service providers will hire an estimated 4,00,000 people on a temporary basis for these projects," he added.
 

Since these jobs are just for the elections, this surge in temporary employment will not impact the existing job market dynamics, given the prevailing imbalance between job supply and demand, noted Mishra.

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 duration of these temporary positions typically begins about 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the electoral proceedings and extends throughout the election period, which will be held in seven phases, Narayan said.

The majority of these roles will remain active until the completion of the election process in each respective location, he added.

Genius Consultants CMD R P 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.

Talking about remuneration for these temporary jobs during the elections, he said, individual workers engaged for specific tasks may earn between Rs 15,000-40,000 based on their role and the scope of work involved.

"Additionally, drivers hired to provide transportation services during the campaign are paid on a per day basis, typically receiving between Rs 5,000-8,000 per day," he added.