Abstract
An important dimension of pro-poor or inclusive growth is productive employment generation through which the dual objectives of growth and poverty reduction can be achieved simultaneously. However, for evolving effective guidelines to shift the workforce from low- to high-productivity jobs, a thorough understanding of the labour market situation and the sectoral composition of growth and employment is essential. Agriculture has been providing livelihood to more than 50 % of the workforce notwithstanding the decline in its share in total value added to less than 20 %. Given the low-productivity employment in the agricultural sector, it is pertinent to create employment opportunities elsewhere in the economy keeping in view the additions to the labour supplies and those who need to be shifted out from the agriculture sector. Since the high-productivity services sector is largely conducive to the absorption of those who are highly skilled and educated, it is the industrial sector which has to be treated as the sector of last resort and has to play the role of engine of growth and employment generation both.
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Notes
- 1.
Papola, http://isid.org.in/pdf/EmployTrenz.PDF. Also see Sharma (2006).
- 2.
As far as the rural-urban differentials in the workforce growth are concerned, urban India recorded a growth rate of 2.27% per annum between 1993–1994 and 1999–2000, which was lower than what was experienced (3.27% per annum) in the previous period, 1983–1984 to 1993–1994. Population growth in urban India has been higher than the employment growth during the 1990s (population growth is estimated at 3.05% per annum between January 1,1994 and January 1, 2000 as per Sundaram (2001) and 2.71% per annum between 1991 and 2001 as per the population census). Employment growth in the rural areas too decelerated considerably from 1.75% per annum in the first sub-period to 0.66% per annum in the second sub-period. Population growth was recorded at 1.51% per annum between 1994 and 2000 as per Sundaram (2001) and 1.65% per annum between 1991 and 2001 as per population census in the rural areas, and it exceeded the employment growth rate over the same period.
 The employment growth rate in the manufacturing sector dropped, marginally though, to 1.78% and 1.83% per annum in rural and urban India, respectively, in the 1990s compared to a growth rate of 2.14 and 2.21% per annum between 1983 and 1993–1994. In Urban India, several tertiary activities such as trade, transport and finance recorded acceleration in the employment growth rate though it has not been witnessed in the case of rural areas except transport and construction. The category of community, social and personal services, which comprises public administration, experienced a major decline in the growth rate in both rural and urban India in the 1990s compared to the 1980s. In addition to the decline in the agricultural employment, the non-agricultural employment growth rate too dropped in both rural and urban areas in the 1990s compared to the 1980s.
 From economic census data, the deceleration in the growth rate in the 1990s compared to the 1980s is again evident in both rural and urban areas. Rural agricultural employment growth rate fell to 4.71% per annum during 1990–1998 from 5.63% per annum between 1980 and 1990. Urban non-agriculture employment growth rate dropped to 1.33% annum in 1990s from 2.81% per annum during the 1980s. Also from the decennial population censuses, it may be noted that the growth of main workers decelerated significantly from 2.34% per annum during the 1980s to 0.81% in the 1990s (Economica India Info-Services). However, the population census data upholds a picture, which is quite different from that of the economic census data. While the urban areas reported a growth rate of 2.66% per annum in terms of the main workers, between 1991and 1901, the rural areas revealed a picture of pure stagnancy. On the other hand, economic census data show a brighter picture corresponding to the rural areas compared to the urban areas in the 1990s.
- 3.
NSS Report No. 455, Employment and Unemployment in India 1999–2000.
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Mitra, A. (2013). Labour Market Outcomes. In: Insights into Inclusive Growth, Employment and Wellbeing in India. Springer, India. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-0656-9_7
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