India Employment Report 2024 ‘extremely concerning’, says Congress

Lack of employment growth

Despite a substantial increase in the labour force by around 70-80 lakh youths annually — between 2012 and 2019 — there was almost zero growth in employment — just 0.01 per cent, Ramesh said, citing the report.

While unemployment was high among the urban youth (17.2 per cent), as well as rural youth (10.6 per cent), the female unemployment rate in urban areas was extremely high at 21.6 per cent, he said.

A significant portion of graduate degree holders (29.1 per cent) are unemployed, he said, pointing out that just 20 per cent of the 1,25,000 establishments registered on the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme portal offer apprenticeships.

Real wages for regular workers have decreased over the past decade, exacerbated by uncontrolled inflation, Ramesh said. “Real wages of regular workers have declined between 2012 and 2022. Inflation has been uncontrolled and workers can now afford less than they could 10 years ago,” he said.

Non-enforcement of minimum wage laws has led to a majority of unskilled agriculture workers receiving below the legally mandated minimum wage.

Ramesh also accused the government of being a “failure” in empowering young women to work.

Despite strides in various sectors, nearly half of India’s young women remain disengaged from productive employment, education, or training, indicating a failure in empowering women, he said.

Our statement on the India Employment Report 2024, released yesterday by the International Labour Organisation and the Institute for Human Development#PaanchNYAYPacheesGuarantee #HaathBadlegaHalaat pic.twitter.com/7I5hs8yQzI

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 27, 2024

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Reversal of economic modernisation

According to the report, the Modi government increased the percentage of low-paying informal-sector employment without social security, while formal employment decreased from 10.5 per cent to 9.7 per cent from 2019-22, said Ramesh.

Additionally, the agricultural sector has been witnessing an unexpected rise in the number of workers, contradicting the trajectory of economic modernization observed globally.

“For the first time in decades, under Modi’s mismanagement, the absolute number of workers in agriculture is increasing,” he said, adding, “This goes against the very basic concept of economic modernisation, which every developed country has gone through.”

Workers are moving from factories back to farms, resulting in an increase in the share of agriculture in total employment from 42 per cent to 45.4 per cent from 2019-22, Ramesh said.

Congress’ ‘Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantees’

In response to these pressing issues, the Congress has also proposed a “concrete plan of action” — the “Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantees”, aimed at addressing the challenges of unemployment, stagnant wages, and low female labour force participation.

The party has put forward schemes such as “Bharti Bharosa”, “Pehli Naukri Pakki”, “Yuva Roshni”, and “Shehri Rozgar Guarantee” to spur job creation, provide training, and support entrepreneurship among youth.

While the grand old party assures that 30 lakh jobs will be created by the Union government under the “Bharti Bharosa” scheme, including filling all vacancies, the “Pehli Naukri Pakki” scheme will guarantee paid, one-year jobs to all graduates and diploma holders so that they can get on-the-job training.

The “Yuva Roshni” scheme guarantees a ₹5,000 crore start-up fund for the youth to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations, while “Shehri Rozgar Guarantee” is an employment guarantee Act for urban areas to develop public infrastructure, make cities resilient to climate change, and address gaps in social services.

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Wage increase measures

For increase in wages, the party has proposed the following schemes.

Shram ka Samman: National ₹400 minimum wage, including for MGNREGA workers

Shakti ka Samman: Double the pay for ASHA, Anganwadi, and MDM workers

Gig economy me Samajik Suraksha: Better working conditions and social security for gig workers

Women empowerment programs

The schemes proposed to increase women labour force participation are as follows.

Aadhi Aabadi, Poora Haq: 50 per cent of new central government jobs reserved for women

Savitri Bai Phule Hostels: Double the number of working women hostels in the country

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)