Only Half of India's Working-Age Population Work, Most still in Agriculture, as Shown by the ILO Report
The International Labour Organization's India Employment Report, released on Wednesday, shows that despite reasonable growth, there has not been a commensurate increase in productive employment opportunities. India is at the threshold of reaping its demographic dividend, but a significant portion of the working-age population still works in the non-productive agriculture sector, according to the latest report, prepared jointly by the ILO and the Institute for Human Development, based in Delhi.
The report uses statistics published by the government of India and the Reserve Bank of India from surveys conducted between 2000 and 2022. It uses National Sample Survey data for the years 2001 and 212, and Periodic Labour Force Surveys for 1919 and 11.
Across the world, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 59.8 in 2022, but in India it was 0.7 percentage points lower than in 2012 when it stood at 55.9 per cent. The report clarifies that this reduction is unlikely to be due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the major fall in participation rates occurred in 2019, when the LFPR dropped from 50.2 per cent to 55 per cent in 2009. This means that only about half of India's young working population is actually employed or seeking employment.
30.03.2024
The report uses statistics published by the government of India and the Reserve Bank of India from surveys conducted between 2000 and 2022. It uses National Sample Survey data for the years 2001 and 212, and Periodic Labour Force Surveys for 1919 and 11.
Across the world, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 59.8 in 2022, but in India it was 0.7 percentage points lower than in 2012 when it stood at 55.9 per cent. The report clarifies that this reduction is unlikely to be due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the major fall in participation rates occurred in 2019, when the LFPR dropped from 50.2 per cent to 55 per cent in 2009. This means that only about half of India's young working population is actually employed or seeking employment.
30.03.2024