New Delhi, Jul 10 (IANS): Rate of applications per job has now increased by 48 per cent in India compared to average applications per job in the pre-Covid period, said a report by online hiring platform QuikrJobs on Friday.

The situation is worse in metro cities as QuikrJobs saw greater increase in the rate of applications per job in these areas, compared to job applications in non-metro areas, according to the report titled "Impact of Covid-19 on the Blue-Collar Industry in India".

There was a significant increase in applications per job as compared to pre-Covid for roles like data entry/back office (115 per cent), delivery executives (139 per cent), driver (122 per cent), teacher (108 per cent), marketing (179 per cent) and sales (187 per cent), said the report.

Owing to international flight cancellations and restriction on entry/exit of people by many countries, "Work Abroad" jobs saw a 65 per cent dip in applications from job-seekers.

This report analysed job listings by recruiters and job applications by job-seekers as seen on QuikrJobs platform from January till March 15 as pre-Covid period and March 16 till the end of May 2020 as Covid lockdown period.

The data showed that availability of blue-collar workforce has increased significantly as compared to availability of jobs.

QuikrJobs witnessed a dip in both jobs and applicants during lockdown, especially in April.

However, the overall applications for blue-collar job roles saw a 108 per cent growth in applications and 36 per cent increase in the availability of jobs in May as compared to April.

Roles that can be classified as "Work from Home" is currently the most preferred option for many job-seekers saw an increase in the salary offered, said the report.