According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) Survey 2017-18 data, reviewed by The Indian Express, the actual size of India’s male workforce has shrunk for the first time since 1993-94.
The size of male workforce increased from 21.9 crore in 1993-94 to 30.4 crore in 2011-12 when the last NSSO survey was conducted. This shows that in 2017-18, fewer men were employed as compared with five years ago.
There has been a decline in both, rural and urban male workforce, with the fall being 6.4 per cent in rural areas and 4.7 per cent in urban areas.
The NSSO report also states that joblessness was 7.8 per cent in urban areas where as it was 5.3 per cent in rural areas of the country.
The report also shows that more people were withdrawing from the work force due to which labour force participation rate (LFPR) was at a lower level as compared to previous few years.
A fall by around eight percentage points to 23.3% in 2017-18 was seen in the labour force participation rate for women, whereas for men, it fell by four percentage points to 75.8%.
Also read: 108 economists slam Modi govt for political interference in data estimation
Similarly, in the case of rural and urban areas, the decline in labour force participation rate was higher in rural regions. It fell from 67.7% to 58.7% in rural areas and from 49.3% to 47.6% in urban areas.
The labour force participation rate of women in rural areas fell by over 11 percentage points whereas it stayed the same at 20.4% in urban areas.
According to NSSO’s periodic labour force survey (PLFS) report, which is yet to be published, states that India’s unemployment rate stood at a 45-year-high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18.
According to the documents reviewed by Business Standard, the report states that unemployment rate in 2017-18 was at its highest level since 1972-73.
The report has created controversy since it has not made public yet and if speculations are to be believed, the delay has been due to the data about jobs which is sure to bring embarrassment for the government.
Acting Chairman P C Mohanan and member of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) and Prof. J V Meenakshi resigned citing the same reason.
One thought on “NSSO report shows India’s male workforce has shrunk”