The unemployment rate in India hit 6.1% in 2017-18, highest the country has seen in 45 years, according to an undisclosed jobs survey accessed by Indian daily Business Standard. The report was reportedly vetted by the two independent members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), including the acting chairman, who resigned subsequently because the government decided not to make the data public and, in fact, subsequently trashed the report. There are 130 million new voters this election who will soon be in the ‘looking for employment’ bracket. It’s not clear where their political loyalties lie, but it is even more unclear where they will find employment. Whether they are employable or not, given our education system of ‘note down, memorize and reproduce’ is another question.
The collapse of Jet Airways, has not, in reality, created unemployment for most of the staff were picked up by other airlines, perhaps at lower salaries. But this has prevented the creation of new employment as the other airlines have not added to their employment beyond the existing employment statistics and that is, strictly speaking, the employment scenario in the country today.
The employed meanwhile, primarily in the organized sector – mainly the government and its PSU’s, the financial companies and the banks, the existing manufacturing sector and the growing services sector like the hospitality and hospital industry are reasonably well protected and paid, and consequently, the power of labor unions has dwindled drastically. They exist, but cannot win for their members anything they cannot win for themselves, by leveraging their skill levels in a country, where ’employability’ is at all time low…
The scenario in the unorganized sector, on the other hand, is dismal. There are schemes for them that are implemented more in the breach than as a rule and this is where the bulk of the ’employed’ are from agricultural labour, to construction labour and the ‘self-employed pakoda sellers’. There are no health benefits, income is variable and uncertain and their working conditions are terrible more often than not.
The nature of the job market is changing too – it is moving from the manual manufacturing worker to the service-oriented knowledge worker and our education system is not able to keep up with that change. Automation is taking over most of the sectors including manufacturing.
What then is the answer? Stronger Unions? No; More employable individuals? Maybe; But critical is the creation of jobs that cater to the skills we currently generate at least in the short run. The other way around is ideal, but given our education system and our economy’s trend, it is rather difficult. Creation of jobs for the existing skills can only come from a financial stimulus to the infrastructure, health, tourism (including health tourism) education and R & D Sectors of the economy. From them will flow, manufacturing and tech startups which create jobs in the organized sector. The unorganized sector must be more organized in terms of contributory benefits of health and wealth creation – which given determination can easily be done.
