2.5 lakh e-commerce jobs likely in 2016: Assocham

New Delhi, Feb 5: E-commerce is likely to generate during 2016 nearly 2.5 lakh jobs in India’s online retail, including temporary employees, supply chain, logistics and ancillary units, an apex trade association has said. According to estimates, released on Friday by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), 2.5 million people will be required to work within the e-commerce industry by 2016.

Assocham said in a research paper that India’s e-commerce market was worth about $3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $17 billion in 2014 and to $23 billion in 2015 and was expected to touch a whopping $38 billion-mark by 2016. The paper shows that majority of e-commerce departments and businesses have increased their turnover since last year and present a huge opportunity for the industry to develop further. According to Assocham, e-commerce industry will be looking over the next 12 months for more people to add to about 3,50,000 who work for it currently. Increasing smartphone ownership and investment from retailers are fuelling the rapid growth of m-commerce in India. “The hiring activities are expected to grow by over 60-65 percent in this sector and may help create between 5-8 lakh employment opportunities in two to three years,” Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said.(IANS)