Even as unemployment falls, lack of ‘decent work’ in India
The Hindu – National
thehindu.com
Summary
Subscribed with another email? Measured this way, India’s labour market persistently exhibits high levels of informality, insecure employment, and increasing inequalities. Using two rounds of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2017-18 and 2023-24, the quality of employment in India has been analysed. Though employment opportunities are increasing, labour protections and job security are not improving at the same pace. Agriculture, which continues to employ the largest share of India’s workforce, remains the lowest-quality employment generating sector. Workers remain dependent on casual employment, subcontracting chains and insecure labour arrangements. Nearly 90% of India’s workforce remains informally employed, a share that has risen since 2019, according to the India Employment Report 2024 (ILO–IHD). However, informalisation of jobs reduces decent work creation in India over time. India has to shift from a ‘job-counting approach’ to a ‘job-quality approach’. Until then, India’s employment success story will remain incomplete — no nation can call itself developed while its workforce remains insecure.
From the source
Poor-quality employment generation has consequences for economic growth; workers without social security spend less, save less and remain vulnerable to economic shocks
Read the full article
Published by The Hindu – National on thehindu.com

