The India Employment Report 2024, prepared by the Institute for Human Development (IHD) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), offers a comprehensive analysis of India’s evolving labor market. This insightful report highlights the current state of employment, youth participation, gender disparities, and future trends. The findings shed light on the challenges and opportunities within the country’s workforce and suggest actionable recommendations for improving employment outcomes.
Key Highlights from the India Employment Report
- The report is prepared by the Institute for Human Development in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
- It highlights the challenges of youth employment within India’s evolving economic, labor market, educational, and skills landscapes.
- This report has used the data analysis from the National Sample Surveys and the Periodic Labour Force Surveys between 2000 and 2022.
- In addition, the report relied on figures from other databases such as the Reserve Bank and the sixth edition of the India-KLEMS record, which measures the productivity of inputs in each major element of the economy
- The ILO-IHD report also used data from the government’s Annual Survey of Industries repository.
- The India Employment Report 2024 is the third in the series of regular publications
- The report highlights recent trends in the Indian labour market, which indicate improvements in some outcomes along with persisting and new challenges, including those generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings from the India Employment Report 2024
State
- The employment condition index has improved between 2004-05 and 2021-22. But some states — Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and UP — have remained at the bottom throughout this period
- While some others — Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat — have stayed at the top.
Employment quality
- Informal employment has risen — around half the jobs in the formal sector are of an informal nature.
- Self-employment and unpaid family work has also increased, especially for women.
- Almost 82% of the workforce is engaged in the informal sector, and nearly 90% is informally employed
- Self-employment remains the primary source of employment — 55.8% in 2022. Casual and regular employment accounted for 22.7% and 21.5% respectively.
Participation of women
- The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India remains among the world’s lowest.
Structural transformation
- There has been a reversal of the slow transition towards non-farm employment after 2018-19. The share of agriculture in total employment fell to around 42% in 2019 from 60% in 2000.
- This shift was largely absorbed by construction and services, the share of which in total employment increased to 32% in 2019 from 23% in 2000. The share of manufacturing in employment has remained almost stagnant at 12-14%.
Youth employment
- There has been a rise in youth employment, but the quality of work remains a concern, especially for qualified young workers.
- Youth employment and underemployment increased between 2000 and 2019 but declined during the pandemic years.
- However, unemployment among youths, especially those with secondary-level or higher education, has intensified over time.
Migration
- The rates of urbanization and migration are expected to considerably increase in the future.
- India is expected to have a migration rate of around 40% in 2030 and will have an urban population of around 607 million.
- The bulk of this increase in urban growth will come from migration. The pattern of migration also shows regional imbalance in the labour markets.
- The direction of migration in general is from eastern, north-eastern and central regions to southern, western and northern regions.
Recommendations from the India Employment Report
- There’s a need to invest in and regulate sectors such as the care industry and the digital economy, which are anticipated to be significant sources of employment for young people.
- Fostering an inclusive urbanisation and migration policy is essential
- Ensuring a robust supportive role for labour policy and regulation is crucial.
- Integrate an employment creation agenda into macroeconomic policies, particularly emphasising productive non-farm employment, notably in manufacturing.
- Prioritise labour-intensive manufacturing to absorb unskilled labour and complement with selected services.
- Concentrate efforts on supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through a decentralised approach.
- Increase agricultural productivity, generate non-farm employment opportunities, and encourage entrepreneurship.
- Invest in green and blue economies, leveraging strategic investments, capacity-building initiatives, and policy frameworks to unlock substantial employment potential.
- Implement policies to enhance women’s participation in quality employment.
- Integrate high-quality skills training into education to uplift economically disadvantaged groups and boost employability.
- Improve access to information technology and bridge the digital gap. Establish a fair labour market by combating discrimination against women and marginalised communities.
Institute for Human Development (IHD)
- The IHD is a non-profit autonomous institution under the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE).
- Established in 1998, it majorly undertakes research in areas of labour and employment, livelihood, gender, health, education and other aspects of human development.
- The institute also examines government policies and programmes and is recognised by ministries like the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- The institute is a knowledge partner with NITI Aayog and monitors the national works of the Ministries of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water.
- IHD has close to 200 research projects, both nationally and internationally sponsored. The two most significant journals produced by the research institute are the Indian Journal of Labour Economics and the Indian Journal of Human Development.
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