India added 4.7 crore jobs in FY24; 6% growth double of previous year: RBI data

NEW DELHI: India added nearly 4.7 crore jobs in the 2023-24 fiscal year, a Reserve Bank of India report showed on Monday, higher than several other estimates.
Employment growth rate was estimated at 6% in 2023-24, higher than the 3.2% recorded in 2022-23, according to the report, which measures industry productivity and employment. This is the first time that RBI has tried to extrapolate a provisional estimate of productivity for fiscal year 2023-24, using available numbers.
The central bank has issued provisional numbers in its report, which aims to measure productivity across 27 industries that are aggregated to form six broad sectors, including agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water supply, construction and services. The KLEMS database was constructed using numbers compiled from NSO, NSSO, ASI and other sources.
Govt cites RBI report, says 8+ cr jobs created between 2017-18 and 2021-22
The latest data is likely to add to the debate over jobs that has emerged as a major issue and was one of the dominant themes in some parts of the country in the just-concluded general elections. Several other estimates have pointed to high unemployment rates in the country with youth unemployment rate running in double digits.
The release of the RBI’s KLEMS data follows a Citigroup India report on jobs released last week, which said India will struggle to create enough jobs for its growing workforce even with a 7% economic growth. The report had also said that India will need to create 1.2 crore jobs a year over the next decade, but the growth rate will only allow for the creation of 80-90 lakh jobs.
On Monday, the labour ministry issued a detailed rebuttal to the Citigroup India report prepared by its economists. An official statement said that according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and RBI’s KLEMS data, India has generated more than eight crore jobs from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
“This translates to an average of over two crore employment per year, despite the fact that the world economy was hit by Covid-19 pandemic during 2020-21, which contradicts Citigroup’s assertion of India’s inability to generate sufficient employment. This significant employment creation demonstrates the effectiveness of various government initiatives aimed at boosting employment across sectors,” said the statement.
The unemployment rate has declined from 6.0 % in 2017-18 to a low of 3.2% in 2022-23, the statement said citing the PLFS data. “The PLFS data shows that during the last five years, more employment opportunities have been generated compared to the number of people joining the labour force, resulting in a consistent reduction in the unemployment rate,” said the release.
“This is a clear indicator of the positive impact of government policies on employment. Contrary to the report, which suggests a dire employment scenario, the official data reveals a more optimistic picture of the Indian job market,” the statement added.