New Delhi, July 2 (Inditop.com) Though comprehensive job loss data is not available for the current financial year, the Economic Survey Thursday said the financial crisis hit the Indian job market in the last quarter of 2008 but improvement in the employment situation was in sight.
Quoting a labour ministry survey, it said “during October-December 2008, there was decrease in employment of about half a million workers”. The most affected sectors were gems and jewellery, transport, automobiles and textiles.
“Another thin sample survey conducted to asses the employment situation in January 2009 over December 2008 indicated a loss of about one lakh (100,000) jobs,” the survey stated adding that the government is concerned about the possible impact of global financial crisis on the Indian economy, including employment.
The survey said, however, it may be possible that the unemployment indicated is seasonal since the employment estimated in the reference period of the study is not in comparison with the same period in the previous year.
The economic survey also quoted two commerce ministry surveys. “A sample survey conducted by the department of commerce for 402 exporting units revealed job losses to the tune of 109,513 persons during August 2008 and mid January 2009,” it said.
Another sample study conducted for the period August-October 2008 has revealed export losses to the tune of Rs.17,900 crore (Rs.17.9 billion/$3.74 billion) and loss of jobs of over 65,000 people.
The losses were registered in sectors such as textile, food processing, gems and jewellery, minerals and marine products.
Presenting a positive picture, it quoted a labour bureau survey over January-March covering 3,192 units, which indicated a “improvement in the selected sectors with employment rising by a quarter million”.
Sectors registering increased employment were IT-BPO, automobile and interestingly, gems and jewellery, textile and handloom and power loom.
The survey said a large number of measures have been taken to help industry in general and labour-intensive export sector in particular.
The survey said that “it is also projected that 58 million employment opportunities would be created during the Eleventh Five Year Plan”.
