Employment in 9 select sectors rose 200,000 to 31 mn in July-Sept

The higher employment number also reflects an improvement in economic activities after states lifted restrictions that were imposed to curb spreading of coronavirus infections during the second wave

Total employment in nine sectors rose to 3.10 crore during the July-September period of 2021, an increase of 2 lakh compared to June quarter last year, according to a quarterly employment survey released by the Union labour ministry on Monday.

The higher employment number also reflects an improvement in economic activities after states lifted restrictions that were imposed to curb spreading of coronavirus infections in the wake of the second COVID wave in April 2021.

Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav released the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) report which showed that total employment number in 2021 September quarter stood at 3.10 crore in the nine sectors.

 

In April-June period last year, the same stood at 3.08 crore.

The total employment for the nine sectors taken collectively was reported as 2.37 crore in the sixth EC (Economic Census) (2013-14). The QES is part of All-India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey (AQEES).

Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation and Restaurant, IT/ BPO and Financial Services are the nine sectors, that account for a majority of the total employment in the non-farm establishments, covered under the QES.

This is the second report in the series and the first report was for 2021 June quarter. The survey covered establishments with 10 or more employees.

The minister said that employment numbers are showing an increasing trend and mentioned that the over-all percentage of female workers stood at 32.1 per cent, higher than 29.3 per cent reported during the first round of QES (for April-June period).

The second round of QES had a reference date of July 1, 2021 for the different items of information about an establishment. Data were collected through field visits from 11,503 establishments, out of the 12,038 establishments selected in the sample.

In a statement, the ministry said that out of the total employment numbers estimated in the selected nine sectors, Manufacturing accounted for nearly 39 per cent followed by Education (22 per cent) and Health as well as IT/BPOs sectors (around 10 per cent each).

Trade and Transport sectors accounted for 5.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent of the total estimated workers, respectively.

Yadav said these studies will aid the government to achieve its mission of last-mile delivery and evidence-based policy making for workers.

QES being a demand side survey, along with supply side survey i.e, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) will bridge data gaps on employment in the country, he noted.

Nearly 90 per cent of the establishments have been estimated to work with less than 100 workers, though 30 per cent of the IT/BPO establishments worked with at least 100 workers, including about 12 per cent engaging 500 workers or more.

In the Health sector, 19 per cent of the establishments had 100 or more workers. Also, in the case of the Transport sector, 14 per cent of the total estimated establishments were operating with 100 or more workers.

It may be mentioned that 91 per cent of the establishments were reported to have worked with less than 100 workers in the first round of QES and in the IT/BPO sector, the figures during the first QES stood at 21 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, for the size classes of 100-499 employees and 500 or more employees, the ministry said.

Regular workers constituted 87 per cent of the estimated workforce in the nine selected sectors, with only 2 per cent being casual workers. However, in the Construction sector, 20 per cent of the workers were contractual and 6.4 per cent were casual workers.

Most (98.3 per cent) of the establishments were located outside households.

Around 23.5 per cent of all the establishments were registered under the Companies Act.

One-fourth of the establishments were operating as registered societies, 53.9 per cent were registered under the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 and 27.8 per cent were registered under Shops & Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, as per the ministry.

In terms of educational qualifications of workers, 28.4 per cent of those working in seven of the nine sectors, excluding Education and Health, were matriculates/ secondary or less educated while another 37.0 per cent were graduates or had higher qualifications. In fact, the latter percentage was as high as 91.6 per cent in the IT/BPO sector and 59.8 per cent in Financial Services space.

In the Health sector, 18 per cent of the non-clinical workers were matriculates/ secondary or less educated, the figure was at 26.4 per cent in the non-teaching staff of the Education sector. More than 40 per cent of the employees in these two sectors were at least graduates, as per the ministry.

Further, the ministry said it was somewhat encouraging to note that 16.8 per cent of the establishments provided formal skill development programmes, although mostly for their own employees.