On Centre’s plan to recruit 10 lakh personnel in 18 months: Waiting for jobs

News: The Centre’s decision to recruit personnel to fill vacancies is a nod to the festering unemployment issue

Moreover, for a nation that has had a significant demographic dividend finding productive employment for its youth was to be an imperative for India.

What is the situation wrt unemployment in India over the years?

In the last few years, unemployment has remained a major concern

– the leaked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2018 revealed that India’s unemployment rate was the highest (6.07%) in four decades.

– The latest PLFS suggests that the overall unemployment rate is now at 4.2% in 2020-21, compared to 4.8% in 2019-20. Also, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) has inc to 41.6%, up from 40.1% in 2019-20.

But the PLFS data will not bring much cheer to the Government despite a decrease in unemployment, according to official data. This is because the decrease, says the PLFS, has also coincided with the transfer of employment into lower productive and unpaid jobs away from salaried employment.

The, industrial jobs have decreased with more employment in agricultural and farm-related jobs — a trend that accelerated following the lockdown and has not reversed since then. Unemployment rates among the educated (above secondary education — 9.1%) and t                >he youth (age between 15-29 — 12.9%) have only declined marginally.

What is the way forward?

It is clear that the Government must tackle unemployment and, concomitantly, the quality of employment issue, on a war footing.

In this regard, India’s announcement that the Government will be recruiting 10 lakh personnel within the next 18 months should be seen as a step in the right direction.

The bulk of the promised employment is to fill up vacancies.

The country cannot afford to squander more years in its race to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend, and the push to provide jobs for those seeking to enter the labour force, even if belated, will help ease matters for the medium term.

Source: This post is based on the article “On Centre’s plan to recruit 10 lakh personnel in 18 months: Waiting for jobs” published in The Indian Express on 17th June 22.