Male workforce is reportedly shrinking in India, reveals job survey by NSSO

• The unemployment rate in India is recorded at 6.1% for 2017-18, according to the NSSO survey.
  
• The male workforce, however, has shrunk from 304 million in 2011-12 to 286 million in 2017-18.
  
• The rural sector accounts for 6.4% slide in the number of men working in the country, while for the urban sector, the shrinkage was recorded at 4.7%.

Recently, a leaked job survey put out by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) revealed worsening unemployment crisis in India, stating the unemployment rate in the country at 6.1% — highest in last 45 years.

While companies are implementing policies to increase women participation in the workforce, the assessment of NSSO report by the Indian Express has shown that the male workforce in the country has seen a downward projection over the years, since 1993.


The Indian government dismissed the report saying that the data has been processed quarterly. The final analysed report is expected to be revealed by March end. With general elections in the backdrop, the unemployment numbers and job creation remains a matter of concern for the youth.

According to a recent opinion poll, around 40% of the voters in the country are reportedly concerned with the unemployment crisis in the country, which may also be a setback for the ruling party.

According to the analysis drawn from the report, India presently has 286 million employed men. Though the male strength in workforce had been gradually increasing until 2011-12, the latest NSSO survey puts out a different story. The number of men working in the country shrunk from 304 million in 2011-12 to 286 million in 2017-18.

However, the shrinkage was more in rural sector at 6.4%, compared to the urban sector, which recorded the slide at 4.7%.

Amid the disputes on the released statistics, the economists and social scientists in the country criticised the government interference in employment statistics and raised their voice against the suppression of uncomfortable data — including job reports.

The NSSO report, however, is also in sync with the government data released by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which recorded the unemployment rate at 7.2% in February, which was the highest in two years.

On the flipside, according to a survey by YouGov and Mint, the youth in urban India believe that it is comparatively easier to fetch a job now, than six months ago with 45% of younger millennials finding it ‘easy’ to find a job.

See also:
Unemployment in India is at its highest in 45 years – says an Indian daily citing an undisclosed jobs survey
Modi may not take the fall for rising unemployment in India, latest opinion poll shows
108 economists and academics just asked the Indian government to stop interfering with economic data