Employment and unemployment in India an analysis of Indian states

Abstract

The aim of the study is to provide information regarding labour market indicators to be used by policymakers, academicians, researchers and experts. The present study aims to study demographic profile of Indian employed and unemployed population, to explore relationship of inflation, unemployment and output gap among Indian states, and to examine skilled v/s unskilled workforce parameters across Indian states through a unit level analysis. Further, the study analysis the constraints and policy measures pertaining to labour force in India. The present study is based on secondary data for the period 2011-2020 and labour force parameters have been calculated for persons aged 15 years and above. The findings reveal that the labour force participation rate was higher in the rural area than in the urban area. The findings reveal a trade-off between unemployment and inflation at all India level. Further, the study pointed out that there existed a negative relationship between the level of the output gap and inflation at all India level and at the state level. The analysis highlights that the percentage of persons who received vocational training in rural and urban areas has increased over the years. However, the findings show that the persons who received vocational training were less in rural area than urban ones. The results portray that average employment is significant at all India levels but impact of vocational training for generating employment was not reflected in majority of states. In the study, certain policy recommendations viz. Harnessing Demographic Dividend, Drafting National Employment Policy and National Surveys for Evidence-based Policy Making etc. have been suggested to provide gainful employment. newline