It's time for a new QES

The Quarterly Employment Survey is based on an outdated frame and will perpetuate incorrect estimates

Recently, the Labour Bureau, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, released the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) results for April-June 2021 for non-farm industries in the organised sector, which includes establishments with 10 or more workers. The organised sector accounts for less than 2 per cent of total establishments and less than 10 per cent of the economy’s total employment. The survey covered about 11,000 units and was based on telephone interviews.

The QES reported a 29 per cent rise in employment, or 7.1 million new workers. There were 30.8 million workers as of April 1, 2021, compared with 23.7 million,