Employment declined in four out of eight sectors, as on October 1, 2016, as per the third series of the Quarterly Employment Survey by the Labour Bureau released in March, which showed an overall increase of 32,000 workers across sectors over the quarter ending July 1, 2016.

At the all-India level, the manufacturing and IT/BPO sectors showed an estimated increase of 50,000 workers, whereas there was a decline of 18,000 workers in construction, trade, accommodation & restaurant and education sectors.

“There was no increase and decrease in the transport and health sectors,” says the survey.

The IT/BPO sector saw the highest increase of 26,000 workers, followed by manufacturing, with 24,000 workers.

Four sectors — construction, trade, accommodation & restaurant and education — saw a total decline of 18,000 in estimated employment over the previous quarter.

In the accommodation & restaurant sector, there was a decline of 8,000 workers, followed by a decline of 7,000 workers in trade, and decrease of 2,000 and 1,000 workers, respectively, in education and construction, said the survey. The number of self-employed, too, fell by 1,000 during the period.

As per the gender break-up, the highest increase of 49,000 among male workers was seen in manufacturing, followed by 15,000 and 1,000 increase in IT/BPO and construction sectors, respectively.

“However, the highest decline among male workers, 32,000, was observed in the education sector followed by 8,000, 6,000 and 1,000 in accommodation & restaurant, trade and transport sectors, respectively,” said the survey.

Among female workers, the maximum increase of 30,000 was in the education, followed by 11,000 and 1,000 in IT/BPO and transport sectors, respectively.

The highest decline of 25,000 among female workers was seen in manufacturing, followed by 2,000 and 1,000 in construction and trade, respectively.

With regard to the nature of employment, the survey showed an increase of 78,000 and 3,000 in regular and casual workers over the previous quarter, while the number of contract workers declined by 48,000.

Note ban impact

Since this survey was carried out in the quarter before demonetisation of high value currency notes was announced on November 8, 2016, experts fear a further decline in employment in the following quarter.

With about 1.2 crore persons joining the labour force every year in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pre-poll promise to create at least 2.5 crore jobs a year, therefore, seems a far cry.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW