Joblessness appears more in political mudslinging. The unemployment rate in the country is witnessing a declining trend. The unemployment rate was 4.8 per cent in 2019-20, which was subsequently reduced to 4.1 per cent in 2021-22.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rameswar Teli, in his written reply in Rajya Sabha on March 16, also informed that as per Census 2011 total of 20.58 crore females migrated due to Marriage, and as per this census, the number of women migrant workers is 64 lakhs across the country. Besides, this Ministry launched the e-SHRAM portal, a National Database of Unorganised Workers, on August 26, 2021. e-SHRAM allows registration under 30 broad occupation sectors and around 400 occupations.
As on March 13, 2023, 2.79 crore domestic and household workers have registered on the e-shram portal, out of which 2.67 crore are women.
He said the worker-population ratio is witnessing an increasing trend as per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey.
The worker population ratio has increased from 50.9 per cent in 2019-20 to 52.9 per cent in 2021-22, reflecting higher engagement of people in productive activities, he said. Sources said the crucial Worker Population Ratio (WPR) has also improved. The WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.
According to the PLFS annual report (July 2021 to June 2022), the joblessness or unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above came down to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent a year ago (2020-21).
Similarly, the unemployment rate among males also came down to 4.4 per cent in 2021-22 from 4.5 in 2020-21. It was five per cent in 2019-20. The same trend of decline in the unemployment rate was found among females as it dipped to 3.3 per cent in 2021-22 from 3.5 per cent in 2020-21. It was 4.2 per cent in 2019-20.
The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) has also improved to 52.9 per cent in 2021-22 from 52.6 in 2020-21. It was 50.9 per cent in 2019-20. The WPR in females also improved to 31.7 per cent in 2021-22 from 31.4 per cent in 2020-21. The WPR among males rose to 73.8 per cent in 2021-22 from 73.5 per cent in 2020-21.
The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) has also increased. The LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
The LFPR rose to 55.2 per cent in 2021-22 from 54.9 per cent in 2020-21. It also increased among males to 77.2 per cent in 2021-22 from 77 per cent in 2020-21. It rose in females to 32.8 per cent in 2021-22 from 32.5 per cent in 2020-21.
The Ministry has explained that due to the 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, the fieldwork of PLFS was suspended for the second time in April 2021 in most parts of the country. The fieldwork was gradually resumed in the first week of June 2021.
The PFLS is conducted to estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the ‘Current Weekly Status’ (CWS).
The Worker population ratio is defined as the ratio between the total number of workers in a country and the population in the country, multiplied by 100. In December 2022, statistics claimed that the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) had increased from 46.8% in 2017-18 to 52.6% in 2020-21. These actually reflect the higher engagement of people in productive activities
It is argued that various measures and schemes announced by the Central Government have helped improve the ground situation despite challenges. The ‘PM GatiShakti’ is seen as a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. “This approach is powered by Clean Energy and Sabka Prayas leading to huge job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all,” a source told ‘Organiser’.
The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) was launched with effect from October 1, 2020, to incentivise employers for creation of new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic. The terminal date for the registration of beneficiaries was March 31, 2022. Under this, benefits have been provided to over 60.13 lakh beneficiaries.
The Budget 2021-22 also launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore, for a period of 5 years starting from 2021-22. The PLI Schemes being implemented by the Government have the potential to create 60 lakh new jobs.
The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is being implemented by the Government to facilitate self-employment. Under PMMY, collateral-free loans up to Rs 10 lakh are extended to micro/small business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to set up or expand their business activities.
As on November 25, 2022, 37.75 crore loans amounting to Rs. 21.02 lakh crore have been extended to all categories of entrepreneurs in the country since the inception of the Scheme.
The Central Government is also implementing Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) since June 1, 2020, to facilitate collateral-free working capital loans to street vendors to restart their businesses, which were adversely impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sources said that on December 8, 2022, 43.66 lakh loans amounting to Rs 4396.12 crore have been disbursed to 37.95 lakh beneficiaries.
