Mumbai: The controversy around job creation does not appear to die. While the leaked National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data and data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) show acceleration in unemployment, the recently unveiled CII survey indicates a growth of 13.9 per cent in net jobs created over the last four years or at a compounded growth rate of 3.3 per cent per annum.
The survey further claims that the overall job additions works out to 13.5 – 14.9 million per annum. This is slightly higher than the minimum of 12 million jobs that India needs to generate each year.
Thus, if the CII numbers are right, there was just no unemployment at all for the past five years. The numbers given by the CII are based on the projected figures offered by the Labour Bureau (projected for 2017-18). The report quotes the Labour Bureau which estimated about 450 million jobs for 2017-18.
But some people are not comfortable with the numbers given out by the CII. “On ground, we have not seen any job creation. There has been stagnation in jobs in most part of Maharashtra,” claimed Vivek Monteiro, secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions. The outcome of the report is based on the CII survey of 105,347 MSME firms. The report suggest that Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana have been the largest job generators over the past four years.
The report stated that the hospitality and tourism sector accounted for 12 per cent of the jobs. The textiles & apparels; metal products sectors; machinery parts; and transport & logistics contributed about 8 per cent, 8 per cent, 7 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. Monteiro added that CII has not considered data of powerlooms and construction. These are the sectors where huge job losses have taken place, especially after demonetisation. “There are unused machineries lying in various parts of the state.
The survey undertaken by CII is the largest ever MSME specific survey covering 105,347 MSMEs located in about 350 industrial centres spread across 28 states of India. The survey enumerated jobs creation, ease of filling up vacancies, impact of Government initiatives on jobs creation by the MSMEs.