RBI data reveals more jobs in India, private surveys paint bleak unemployment picture, flag quality concerns

The country added 4.67 crore jobs in FY24. Presently, there are 64.33 crore provisional jobs, up from 59.67 crore in FY23, according to Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Measuring Productivity at Industrial Level-The India KLEMS (capital, labour, energy, material, services) data. This number is much higher than the estimates by private surveys that point out the country's high unemployment rate.

India’s employment grew by 6% in FY24 from 3.2% in FY23, according to the RBI data.

The RBI on Monday said it is using a provisional estimate of productivity for the entire economy for the first time in FY24 on the basis of available data.

According to Citibank data, a growth of 7% will create 80 lakh to 90 lakh jobs in India. The country presently needs 1.1 crore to 1.2 crore jobs.

The other challenges to jobs in India are the quality of jobs and lack of employment in the formal sector,  Bloomberg reported. Around 46% of the workforce is still employed in agriculture, a sector that contributes less than 20% to the gross domestic product (GDP). Whereas the manufacturing sector accounts for 11.4% of total jobs in 2023, the report said.

Post-pandemic, few people are employed in the formal sector compared to the pre-pandemic period. Around 25.7% were employed in the formal sector, the lowest in 18 years, per the Bloomberg report. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data, the unemployment rate rose to 9.2%in June from 7% in May. The unemployment rate rose to 8% in FY24 from 7.5% and 7.7% in the preceding two years. The number of people actively looking for a job was 3.7 crore in FY24, according to data.

Employment has been an important poll issue for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The ruling NDA and INDIA Bloc promised job creation in their election manifestos.