BW Communities

Centre Refutes Citigroup’s Claims On India’s Inability To Create Enough Jobs

BW Online Bureau Jul 09, 2024

Selective use of data undermines credibility and does not present an accurate picture of the employment scenario in India, says the ministry

The center denied Citigroup’s research report, which claimed that India would fail to create enough jobs at a seven per cent growth rate over the next ten years.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has refuted the report by citing that it has failed to account for the comprehensive and positive employment data from official sources such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS data.

Recently, Citigroup’s report claimed that India needs to create about 12 million jobs over the next decade, but based on a growth rate of seven per cent, it would only be able to generate around eight to nine million jobs a year. However, as per the data from PLFS and RBI’s KLEMS data, India generated more than 8 crore employment opportunities from 2017-18 to 2021-22 even after battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual PLFS data also indicated improvement in aspects of the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) as it increased from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 57.9 per cent in 2022-23. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) has increased from 46.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 56 per cent in 2022-23.

Similarly, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data suggested that more people are joining formal jobs. More than 1.3 crore subscribers joined EPFO during 2023-24 as compared to 61.1 lakh in 2018-19 which displays the improved ease of doing business and enhanced skill development programmes.

To refute the claims of Citigroup’s report, the Niti Aayog's report on gig economy also plays a crucial role. The report said that a substantial increase in platform workers, taking the number to 2.35 crore by 2029-30. The official data sources from PLFS, RBI and EPFO showed consistent improvements in key labour market indicators.

The ministry highlighted the credibility and comprehensiveness of official data as compared with the selective use of private data sources that tend to misleading conclusions about the country’s employment scenario.