India’s job challenge: Options aplenty but well-paying ones elude workforce
6 years, 4 months ago

India’s job challenge: Options aplenty but well-paying ones elude workforce

Hindustan Times  

Everybody agrees that employment generation is India’s biggest political-economy challenge. While the share of agriculture in India’s GDP has been coming down, its share of employment has been relatively constant. The relative share being greater than one will mean that the sector’s income share is greater than its employment share in the economy. A 2014 Reserve Bank of India working paper gave sector-wise estimates of employment elasticity for the Indian economy between 1999-00 and 2011-12. While these figures should not be used to negate the presence of a large formal sector workforce, they capture the dominance of informal sector low income petty production employment in the Indian economy.

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History of this topic

Stagnant wages amid fast economic growth: We need an Indian Enlightenment
2 days, 16 hours ago

Stagnant wages amid fast economic growth: We need an Indian Enlightenment

Live Mint  

India’s economic growth story has been impressive. Wage stagnation amid rising inflation: The disparity between India’s economic growth and stagnant wages is stark. Chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran warns that low wages could stifle India’s long-term potential by weakening consumer demand and the quality of life for millions. This is not the template for a ‘Viksit Bharat.’ The paradox …

India must shift its policy focus to address the demand deficiency that ails its economy.
1 month ago

India must shift its policy focus to address the demand deficiency that ails its economy.

Live Mint  

Two key pieces of economic data released last month have rung alarm bells on the state of India’s economy. Rural wages have been stagnant for the last 10 years, but even general wages have shown a decline in real terms for both rural and urban areas for more than a decade. The Centre’s strategy for managing food inflation has largely …

Urban labour market shows improvement as unemployment declines in September quarter
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Urban labour market shows improvement as unemployment declines in September quarter

Live Mint  

India's urban labour market demonstrated steady gains in July-September, with rising workforce participation and a slight dip in unemployment, according to recent data. Urban unemployment rate, a key indicator of joblessness, fell to 6.4% in July-September, down from 6.6% a year prior, as per data from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Monday. The Labour Force Participation Rate …

Bihar is in need of an economic plan to escape its ‘sub-Saharan India’
2 months, 1 week ago

Bihar is in need of an economic plan to escape its ‘sub-Saharan India’

Live Mint  

At India’s independence, an explicit government objective was to have a more egalitarian society, coupled with balanced development of different regions; active state intervention was envisaged to reduce disparities. India’s Freight Equalization Scheme introduced in 1952, which aimed to promote even industrial development by subsidizing long-distance transport of key inputs such as iron and steel, possibly contributed to this divergence. …

Economic Value of Unpaid Household Work in India: A Comprehensive Analysis
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Economic Value of Unpaid Household Work in India: A Comprehensive Analysis

The Hindu  

The article explores the economic value of unpaid household activities in India through the lens of unpaid care work and parenting. Using data from the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS), the authors estimate that unpaid household work contributes approximately ₹22.7 lakh crore to India's GDP, highlighting the significant role of women in the economy. The study advocates for policy reforms …

The budget & jobs: Prescriptions without diagnosis
4 months, 3 weeks ago

The budget & jobs: Prescriptions without diagnosis

New Indian Express  

The Union budget for 2024-25 has a grand target to provide employment to 4.1 crore young people in 5 years, which works out to 8.2 million a year. For example, it speaks of an “improved” situation “with the unemployment declining to 3.2 percent in 2022-23”, “rising youth and female participation in the workforce”, and a “bounce-back of the organised manufacturing …

Economic Survey 2023-24: Why does it matter? What are the key takeaways?
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2023-24: Why does it matter? What are the key takeaways?

Firstpost  

The Economic Survey for the year 2023-24 was tabled in Parliament on Monday setting the tone for the presentation of the Union Budget on July 23 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File Image/Reuters Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2023-24 on Monday in Parliament, presenting a comprehensive analysis of India’s economic trajectory amid global challenges. Key Takeaways …

Economic Survey 2023-24: Economy needs to generate nearly 78.51 lakh jobs annually in the non-farm sector
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2023-24: Economy needs to generate nearly 78.51 lakh jobs annually in the non-farm sector

The Hindu  

India's workforce is nearly 56.5 crore, with more than 45% employed in agriculture, 11.4% in manufacturing, 28.9% in services, and 13.0% in construction, highlights the Economic Survey 2023-24 released by the finance ministry on July 22. It stated, “The female labour force participation rate has been rising for six years, from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 37% in 2022-23, driven mainly …

Jobs Creation, Agri Push, Skill Development, MSME Support: Govt Unveils Key Policy Focus Areas
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Jobs Creation, Agri Push, Skill Development, MSME Support: Govt Unveils Key Policy Focus Areas

News 18  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday tabled the Economic Survey 2023-24 in Parliament, setting the stage for the Union Budget 2024-25. Skill Gap Challenge The Economic Survey 2023-24 said 65 per cent of India’s fast-growing population is under 35, and many lack the skills needed by a modern economy. In India, the government has been paying focused attention to enabling …

Economic Survey flags impact of AI on workers, puts onus on pvt sector to create jobs
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey flags impact of AI on workers, puts onus on pvt sector to create jobs

Live Mint  

“…it is in the enlightened self-interest of the Indian corporate sector, swimming in excess profits, to take its responsibility to create jobs seriously,” the Economic Survey said The Economic Survey on Monday highlighted the adverse impact that artificial intelligence can cast on Inda’s working class which in turn can add to the barriers to sustained growth for the Indian economy. …

Economic Survey 2024 key highlights: FY25 growth forecast, inflation outlook and more
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2024 key highlights: FY25 growth forecast, inflation outlook and more

India Today  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday tabled the Economic Survey 2023-24, which highlighted that the Indian economy is “on a strong wicket and stable footing”. Here are some of the key takeaways from the Economic Survey 2023-24: Indian economy on 'strong wicket' The Economic Survey highlighted that the economy is growing strongly, demonstrating resilience despite challenges. Inflation under control, private …

Economic Survey 2023-24: Tax policies to have major role in tackling income inequality
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2023-24: Tax policies to have major role in tackling income inequality

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: Tax policies will have a major role to play in tackling income inequality in the coming years as deployment of technology, like AI, can have a more deleterious impact on employment and income, the Economic Survey said on Monday. The 2022 State of Inequality in India report observed that in India, the top 1 per cent accounts for …

Centre questions Citigroup’s report on employment in India
6 months ago

Centre questions Citigroup’s report on employment in India

The Hindu  

The Union Labour Ministry questioned the findings of a report prepared by the United States-based banking giant Citigroup and said the group failed to account for the “comprehensive and positive employment data” available from official sources such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey and the Reserve Bank of India’s capital, labour, energy, material and services data. The Citigroup’s report had …

Labour ministry rebuts Citigroup's research report on employment in India
6 months, 1 week ago

Labour ministry rebuts Citigroup's research report on employment in India

New Indian Express  

NEW DELHI: The labour ministry on Monday rebutted a recent report by Citigroup which forecast that India will struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities even with a 7 per cent growth rate. The ministry in a statement said the report "fails to account for the comprehensive and positive employment data available from official sources such as Periodic Labour Force Survey …

Trivialising the equality debate
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Trivialising the equality debate

Hindustan Times  

That India is among the rare exceptions in the Global South which has embraced privatisation and globalisation without a major economic crisis is a fact often not appreciated enough. Rising capital intensity in most high value sectors has made generating better paying jobs outside farms more difficult today. The BJP, which is clearly aware of the generalised economic discontent over …

Has the growth of India’s economy translated into domestic jobs?
9 months ago

Has the growth of India’s economy translated into domestic jobs?

Live Mint  

Recently, two international organizations published their assessment of India’s labour market and employment situation. Over the 42 years between 1980-81 and 2021-22, non-farm employment in India grew at a compounded average annual growth rate of 3.16%. As stated in its report, the concern of the World Bank is that the employment ratio in South Asian economies, including India, has declined …

How to create more jobs for India’s educated youth | In Focus podcast
9 months, 1 week ago

How to create more jobs for India’s educated youth | In Focus podcast

The Hindu  

The India Employment Report 2024, released recently by the International Labour Organisation, paints a grim picture. The news is particularly bad on two critical counts: joblessness is particularly high among the youth, and its worse for the educated youth. According to the report, India’s youth account for 83% of the unemployed workforce, with the share of the educated youth among …

Can India Ensure Living Wages at a Time When Workers Struggle for Minimum Wage?
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Can India Ensure Living Wages at a Time When Workers Struggle for Minimum Wage?

The Quint  

Recruitment happened through middlemen, the pay was based on piecework, and most workers preferred daily wages to avoid deductions for benefits from their already meagre income of Rs 300. Even though company hostels provided them with shelter, migrant workers were still classified as daily wage earners, receiving no benefits. Although these workers perform industrial work, qualifying them as organised sector …

What job data says about the economy
1 year ago

What job data says about the economy

Hindustan Times  

The decade beginning in 2000 was one of the best as far as the Indian economy’s growth prospects were concerned. PREMIUM New Delhi, India - Feb. 16, 2018: Candidates apply for jobs at 'Job Fair' organized by Directorate of Employment, Delhi Government at Tyagraj Sports Complex in New Delhi, India, on Friday, February 16, 2018. However, headline employment numbers from …

India’s jobs crisis, the macroeconomic reasons
1 year ago

India’s jobs crisis, the macroeconomic reasons

The Hindu  

There are many indications everywhere that India continues to be going through a jobs crisis. Employment growth rate is determined by the relative strength of two factors — the output growth rate and the labour productivity growth rate. If labour productivity growth rate does not change, higher output growth rate increases employment growth rate. On the other hand, if labour …

Book Excerpt | India's growth story diverges from the pan-Asian narrative
1 year ago

Book Excerpt | India's growth story diverges from the pan-Asian narrative

Deccan Chronicle  

Asian export-led growth accelerated the typical shift in labour between sectors, but the transformation was similar to the one that rich countries had already gone through. Thus, the manufacturing share of employment in an economy as a function of its income per person first increases as workers move from agriculture to manufacturing, then decreases as they move from manufacturing to …

The big threat to India’s demographic dividend
1 year, 1 month ago

The big threat to India’s demographic dividend

Live Mint  

Bengaluru: In a short press release, dated 13 October, the Ministry of Women and Child Development announced that the Female Labour Force Participation Rate for 2022-23 had improved significantly over the previous year by 4.2 percentage points to 37%. Non-obvious insights View Full Image One of the most under-reported trends is that agriculture, which is the least productive undertaking, is …

Beyond Silkyara smiles, gloomy state of workers
1 year, 1 month ago

Beyond Silkyara smiles, gloomy state of workers

Hindustan Times  

The successful rescue of 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for over 17 days is both thrilling and sobering. Every day millions of India’s workers suffer the worst forms of indignities as they struggle to make a livelihood with little policy protection and on the margins of national consciousness. Data from the government’s Periodic Labour Force Survey shows that …

Labour and its discontents
1 year, 3 months ago

Labour and its discontents

Hindustan Times  

There is a widespread consensus that employment generation is India’s central economic challenge. At one level, it can be argued that failure to reduce the employment share of agriculture is India’s biggest labour market challenge. At another, it can also be argued that the quality of non-agricultural jobs, caste-based inequalities in labour markets and a big gender gap in employment …

Balancing Ambitions, Indian Jobseekers Want Work-Life Balance Over High Salary: Survey
1 year, 5 months ago

Balancing Ambitions, Indian Jobseekers Want Work-Life Balance Over High Salary: Survey

News 18  

Work flexibility is the most crucial parameter for Indian jobseekers, much more than compensation and benefits, according to a survey by global job site Indeed. The survey ’The Job Search Process: A Look from the Inside Out’ aims to gain insights into the preferences, challenges, and aspirations of jobseekers amidst global economic shifts. Around 70 per cent of Indian jobseekers …

Addressing gender inequalities: India needs bold steps
1 year, 11 months ago

Addressing gender inequalities: India needs bold steps

Hindustan Times  

India, which assumed presidency of G20 this year, has stated that it will prioritise inclusive growth and development, with women empowerment and representation at the forefront of its G20 discussions. This indeed is a desirable objective, given the large gender inequalities that exist in several G20 member countries, especially in India, which also gets reflected in its overall human development …

India@75 survey: Indians favour policy push for rural development, govt jobs
2 years, 5 months ago

India@75 survey: Indians favour policy push for rural development, govt jobs

Live Mint  

How should India be governed? Around 53% of urban Indians would prefer a tax cut over cash transfers for the poor; 58% would like the government to be the job-giver compared to 42% wanting it to be an enabler of private sector jobs. View Full Image India's idea of welfare The survey covered 10,271 respondents across 204 cities and towns. …

The inequality challenge for India@75
2 years, 5 months ago

The inequality challenge for India@75

Live Mint  

During the period 1950-51 to 2019-20, for which evidence is available, in real terms, growth in GDP was 4.9% per annum while growth in GDP per capita was 2.9% per annum. This provides a sharp contrast with the period 1900-01 to 1946-47 during the colonial era, when national income growth was 1% per annum and per capita income growth was …

Looking beyond the joblessness number
2 years, 6 months ago

Looking beyond the joblessness number

Hindustan Times  

Unemployment rates are often looked at as the ultimate measure of a country’s ability to create employment. While they are indeed an important metric as far as the labour market is concerned, there is a need to look beyond the headline unemployment number, especially in the case of emerging market economies such as India. The 2020-21 PLFS report – it …

What forced PM Modi's jobs push now
2 years, 7 months ago

What forced PM Modi's jobs push now

India Today  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the status of human resources in all central government ministries and departments and ordered the recruitment of 10 lakh people in a mission mode in the next 18 months,” the PM's Office said in a tweet on Tuesday. — PMO India June 14, 2022 Tuesday’s tweet from the PMO follows protests by frustrated job …

The era of an unemployed India
2 years, 9 months ago

The era of an unemployed India

The Hindu  

Reports on and the visuals of the recent agitations by railway job applicants reveal a widespread problem of massive job insecurity among India’s youth. One such index is the downward pressure unleashed by the influx of overqualified youth aspiring for middle and lower rung government jobs, which, despite their modest pay, are highly coveted given the greater job security ascribed …

Rahul Gandhi's two India attack on Modi govt on jobs & wealth, says rich-poor divide increasing
2 years, 11 months ago

Rahul Gandhi's two India attack on Modi govt on jobs & wealth, says rich-poor divide increasing

India Today  

There are two Indias - one for the ultra rich and one for the rest, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. "Another India is for poor people and the divide between two Indias is widening," Rahul Gandhi said. The one they had has disappeared," Rahul Gandhi said, adding that in 2021, 3 crore youth lost their …

A hazy picture on employment in India
2 years, 11 months ago

A hazy picture on employment in India

The Hindu  

The two important indicators of structural transformation in any economy are rates of growth and changes in the structural composition of output and the workforce. Also, the unemployment rate in the female labour force in rural areas is far lower than the male labour force, whereas the opposite holds true in urban areas. This is despite the fact that the …

India’s unemployment rate saw a small dip in 2018-19, says survey
4 years, 7 months ago

India’s unemployment rate saw a small dip in 2018-19, says survey

The Hindu  

India’s unemployment rate improved from the 45-year high of 6.1% in 2017-18 to 5.8% in 2018-19, says the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday. The labour force participation rate also improved marginally, from 36.9% in 2017-18 to 37.5% in 2018-19. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people without work …

There is no easy fix to declining workforce productivity in India
5 years, 2 months ago

There is no easy fix to declining workforce productivity in India

Live Mint  

Labour productivity in India’s organized manufacturing sector continues its downward spiral. India Ratings and Research’s analysis of the Annual Survey of Industries data showed India’s productivity has fallen significantly over the last eight years. A report published by the State Bank of India Research said India’s labour productivity was significantly lower than global peers. Further, it said that India’s labour …

Most regular jobs in India don’t pay well: PLFS
5 years, 5 months ago

Most regular jobs in India don’t pay well: PLFS

Live Mint  

The much-awaited report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017-18 has highlighted the difficult job situation with 6.1% of India’s labour force, and 17.8% of young people in the labour force reporting to be unemployed. In 2017-18, around 45% of regular workers earned less than ₹10,000 per month, and about 12% earned less than ₹5,000 per month. In rural areas, …

Employment generation remains the toughest job
5 years, 6 months ago

Employment generation remains the toughest job

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The greatest challenge that the Narendra Modi-led government faces in its second term is that of job creation. At the same time, the share of workers with a regular job was also higher than that recorded in any other official jobs survey in the past. As a Mint analysis based on data from annual reports of companies and …

Employment generation remains the toughest job
5 years, 6 months ago

Employment generation remains the toughest job

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The greatest challenge that the Narendra Modi-led government faces in its second term is that of job creation. At the same time, the share of workers with a regular job was also higher than that recorded in any other official jobs survey in the past. As a Mint analysis based on data from annual reports of companies and …

Work undone: How India fails its young job seekers
5 years, 7 months ago

Work undone: How India fails its young job seekers

Al Jazeera  

As India goes to polls, Al Jazeera looks at its intensifying unemployment crisis and the politics that surround it. But just today an interviewer told me I’m too qualified,” said the 24-year-old, who is a Dalit – one of the former “untouchable” caste who still face segregation and social exclusion in India. The politics of unemployment In India’s ongoing national …

Why a full-blown unemployment crisis is awaiting India’s next govt; political theatrics may no longer work to hide the problem
5 years, 10 months ago

Why a full-blown unemployment crisis is awaiting India’s next govt; political theatrics may no longer work to hide the problem

Firstpost  

Two recent studies about the unemployment/financial situation of the average Indian worker, conducted by separate independent agencies, offer further disturbing evidence about India’s worsening job situation. The first is from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which said at 7.2 percent, the country’s unemployment rate in February was worst in at least 29 months when labour force dwindled 25.7 million …

A cautionary tale for our decision-makers
5 years, 11 months ago

A cautionary tale for our decision-makers

Deccan Chronicle  

Formal sector jobs in India are scarce and are highly regarded. Add another 18 million jobs in the government and the total formal sector employment is 145 million, or 61 per cent of the 238 million total non-farm jobs. The top one per cent of the population — around 13 million people — comprising business elites, political dynasties, land-owning “kulaks”, …

Why income inequality in India may be fuelling populist politics
6 years ago

Why income inequality in India may be fuelling populist politics

Live Mint  

New Delhi: After Congress president Rahul Gandhi promised a nationwide farm loan waiver if voted to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is contemplating a nationwide farm income support scheme, news reports suggest. Among large economies for which consistent time series data is available for the past two decades, India has seen the highest …

Has economic growth in India been jobless?
6 years, 1 month ago

Has economic growth in India been jobless?

Live Mint  

New Delhi: With the election season upon us, the discourse has already shifted to jobs. According to the World Bank, this is both an unfair and fair criticism: Economic growth has created jobs but just not enough or of the right quality. In a report published earlier this year, as part of its South Asia Economic Focus series, the World …

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Joblessness in India?
6 years, 2 months ago

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Joblessness in India?

The Quint  

To compound the issue, what is truly baffling is the idea of ‘gainful employment’ for 460 million Indian workers that focuses on improved quality of work and the income derived from it. Government schemes like ‘Skill India’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme’, ‘Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana’, and ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ aimed at more fulfilling, …

The enormity of job challenge that India faces
6 years, 2 months ago

The enormity of job challenge that India faces

Live Mint  

While there is no clarity on the extent of jobs created in the economy since 2011-12, there is no disagreement that the economy has failed to create enough jobs. The unrest among farmers driven by declining incomes is also a manifestation of the problem of employment in a country with almost half of the total workforce working in agriculture. The …

The Jobs Crisis in India: An account of a real problem that some fail to understand, and some pretend not to
6 years, 3 months ago

The Jobs Crisis in India: An account of a real problem that some fail to understand, and some pretend not to

Firstpost  

As the title suggests, Jagannathan admits the existence of a jobs crisis in the country, which needs to be seen in the backdrop of constant denials and playing down of this critical issue by many in the NDA-government and by right-leaning economists. The chapters are designed to debate some of the long-known issues concerning India’s job market, most importantly the …

Job growth should address India’s socio-economic concerns
6 years, 3 months ago

Job growth should address India’s socio-economic concerns

Hindustan Times  

Resolving the jobs question is central to India’s future prosperity and stability. For an economy as large and diverse as India, a successful resolution of the employment challenge is impossible without confronting deeper socio-economic questions. Political parties repeatedly commit themselves to safeguarding reservations in government, yet any discussion on private sector reservations continues to be a taboo in the mainstream …

Opinion | India needs better jobs, not just more of them
6 years, 4 months ago

Opinion | India needs better jobs, not just more of them

Live Mint  

It is an essential input for economic development, creating new markets, new industries and productivity-enhancing innovation. It is also a political economy headache, narrowing the space for policy manoeuvring and creating political incentives for counterproductive palliative measures—think subsidies, rigid labour laws and quota creep. Second, India’s employment elasticity—the percentage change in employment associated with one percentage point change in economic …

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