India saw a 2.5-fold increase in job creation in FY24 compared to the previous year, according to provisional data from the Reserve Bank of India released on July 8. A total of 46.7 million jobs were added, the highest since 1981-82, with a growth rate of 6 per cent surpassing the previous three decades.
This significant job growth occurred alongside a marginal increase in output growth, which was 6.7 per cent in FY24 compared to 6.6 per cent the previous year. The Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS database, which uses the government’s periodic labour force survey, provided these employment figures.
The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report from 2022-23 showed India’s unemployment rate fell to 3.2 per cent, the lowest since 2017-18 when it was 6.1 per cent. The PLFS data is calculated for the July-June period.
By the end of FY24, RBI data indicated that 643.3 million people were employed, up from 597 million the previous year. The last significant job increase, over 40 million jobs, was in FY20, despite a decline in output growth from 5.7 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
Government-released formal employment data last month indicated that over 31 million people joined the formal workforce for the first time in FY24, with 21 million joining the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and 10 million joining the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme.
Further analysis of 2022-23 data revealed that of the 19 million jobs added, three in five were in agriculture, construction, and other services, with trade accounting for another tenth. Agriculture comprised 42.4 per cent of total employment, while construction accounted for 12.5 per cent.
