Abstract
The principal guiding force of managing the Indian economy for close to three decades now is the neoliberal economic order. This has undisputedly given rise to two major challenges, accepted by even the most ardent votaries of neoliberalism, namely, rise in inequality and dismal performance on the employment front. This has led to severe discontent among the masses, which has been very effectively exploited by the political right to mobilize people in the name of religion, national security and the myth of a strong leader, among others. However, the question as to what the right-populist force in India has to offer to solve the crisis ushered in by neoliberalism remains open. In this chapter, we document the outcome on the employment front, which broadly coincides with the first-term of the right-populist government in office.
Evidence suggests, ‘the population aged 15 to 59 years is set to increase dramatically in India from around 757 million in 2010 to 972 million in 2030. This could potentially translate into an addition of over 200 million workers over the next two decades’ (Thomas, Economic and Political Weekly, 49(6), 15–16, 2014). This is the so-called demographic dividend India is supposed to reap. But so far, results from the earlier nationwide National Sample Survey (NSS) surveys suggest, except for the period 1999–2000 to 2004–05, employment growth in India has been dismal. To be sure, this has not necessarily translated to high open unemployment rates—not making it a talking point—since student-population ratio went up. However, down the line these people have completed education and are now in the labour market—probably explaining the highest unemployment rate of 6.1% in 45 years.
Initial analysis of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18 data suggests, at all India level, ‘the proportion of employed persons in the rural working age population [15–59 years] fell by about 6.8 percentage points for men and a whopping 11.7 percentage points for women. In urban areas also the worker population ratios fell—by 4.2 percentage points for working age men and 1.2 percentage points for working age women’ (Rawal and Bansal 2019). This is true for all age groups across every single segment. Further, this decline is visible in agriculture (secularly happening since 2004–05) but most disturbingly now spreading to the construction sector as well. Construction came as a saviour between 2004–05 and 2011–12, amidst employment stagnation/decline in traditional labour absorbing sectors of the economy and it was considered to be the employer of last resort. PLFS 2017-18 data shows for rural and urban men, proportion of workers employed in construction went up by just 0.4%; it stagnated for urban women and fell by 0.7% for rural women.
However, a detailed analysis of PLFS data is necessary to understand the disaggregated employment trend between 2011–12 and 2017–18. It is important to note that unemployment rate went up even as labour force participation rate (LFPR) registered a fall—clearly pointing towards a contraction of employment at the aggregate level. How has this spread over different segments of the population? What are people outside the labour force mainly doing as principal status activity? What is the distribution of working population across broad industry groups? With signs that employment is not picking up—what has happened to wage growth? What is the nature of employment contract predominant in the economy? How do we assess the quality of jobs? These are some of the questions this chapter tries to answer.
It is important to bring back questions of livelihoods of the masses to centre-stage, because, it is only through discussion of real issues that affect people can we restore democratic functioning of society.
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Notes
- 1.
This inverse relationship continues to hold in the subsequent periods.
- 2.
Actually, an overwhelming 38 million out of 60 million, additions in workforce took place in the rural areas (see Table 12.6).
- 3.
- 4.
Interestingly, overall agricultural employment, for the first time since independence, shrank by 33.3 million between 2004–05 and 2011–12 (Mehrotra et al. 2014).
- 5.
This trend in rising educational attainment was also visible across other population segments viz. Rural Male, Urban Male and Urban Female.
- 6.
On the issue of comparability of PLFS with earlier NSS rounds, note that, P.C. Mohanan who resigned as the National Statistical Commission chairman, categorically mentioned, ‘When we [National Statistical Commission] approve a report, I am not going to give a figure which is not comparable with the other ones. Second, the concept of employment and unemployment are universally accepted. International Labour Organization prescribes the standards, we all follow it.’ (https://scroll.in/latest/912803/unemployment-former-statistical-commission-chief-denies-centres-claim-that-report-is-a-draft; last accessed 10 September 2019). Further, Professor R. Ramakumar (2019) pointed out that the sampling design only changed at a later stage (second stage stratification) and there are inbuilt mechanisms to correct over/under-representation of any group. Therefore, PLFS remains comparable with the earlier rounds of NSS survey.
- 7.
In fact, there was a huge controversy over allegedly intentional delay in the publication of employment data by the Union government. The controversy arose with the resignation of the chairman of National Statistical Commission (in protest to the inordinate delay in publication of the employment report finalized by the Commission) and subsequently, leaked unemployment figures—showing highest unemployment rate in 45 years—appearing in the media. There was widespread speculation that, in an election year government was suppressing unpalatable unemployment figures. Curiously, the employment report was published within a week after the declaration of election results and it confirmed the high unemployment rates leaked in the media earlier.
- 8.
This can be expressed in symbols as: UR = \( \frac{L^S-{L}^D}{L^S} \); where, UR = unemployment rate; LS = labour supply; and LD = labour demand.
- 9.
Growth in labour supply is determined by the proportion of population joining the labour force (LFPR) multiplied by the underlying population growth.
- 10.
For example, Thomas (2014: 16) cites: ‘Estimates by the World Bank show that the population aged 15 to 59 years is set to increase dramatically in India from around 757 million in 2010 to 972 million in 2030. This could potentially translate into an addition of over 200 million workers over the next two decades.’ Certainly, labour supply increases due to such additions in the working age group population.
- 11.
This periodization is done with the sole objective of giving emphasis to the most recent period rather than any pedagogic compulsion.
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Roychowdhury, A. (2021). Whatever Happened to Employment: India’s Recent Record from a Nationally Representative Sample. In: Jha, P., Chambati, W., Ossome, L. (eds) Labour Questions in the Global South. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4635-2_12
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