State of employment in India: What a new report says about youths and women, concerns and caution
- March 28, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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State of employment in India: What a new report says about youths and women, concerns and caution
Subject: Economy
Section: Inflation and unemployment
Context:
- India Employment Report 2024 is recently released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The index is based on seven labour market outcome indicators:
- percentage of workers employed in regular formal work;
- percentage of casual labourers;
- percentage of self-employed workers below the poverty line;
- work participation rate;
- average monthly earnings of casual labourers;
- unemployment rate of secondary and above-educated youth;
- youth not in employment and education or training.
The report has flagged concerns about poor employment conditions:
- The slow transition to non-farm employment has reversed;
- Women largely account for the increase in self-employment and unpaid family work;
- Youth employment is of poorer quality than employment for adults;
- Wages and earnings are stagnant or declining.
Report findings:
- The ‘employment condition index’ has improved between 2004-05 and 2021-22. But some states — Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and UP — have remained at the bottom throughout this period, while some others — Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat — have stayed at the top.
Segment | Findings | Increased/Decreased |
Informal employment |
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Self-employment |
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Casual employment |
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Regular employment |
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Participation of women |
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Structural transformation |
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Youth employment and Underemployment |
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Social Inequalities |
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Major recommendation:
- There are five key policy areas for further action: promoting job creation; improving employment quality; addressing labour market inequalities; strengthening skills and active labour market policies; and bridging the knowledge deficits on labour market patterns and youth employment.