The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data have revealed a drastic increase in the number of unemployed people in India.
A comparison of the employment-to-population ratio (EPR) in rural versus urban areas shows significant variations. Rural EPR came down relatively more in 2017-18 compared to urban EPR, according to the PLFS data accessed by The Hindu.
Rural women hit the most
Among all the cohorts, the EPR of rural women registered the sharpest decrease in 2017-18. It reduced by 7.3 percentage points from 2011-12, while the corresponding figure for rural men was 2.6 percentage points. The graph shows the EPR among usual workers (workers who worked regularly in the past year).
Share of rural salaried employees goes up
In 2017-18, the share of regular wage/salaried employees went up significantly among rural men and women workers while that of casual labourers went down. The graph shows the share of regular wage/salaried workers among all those employed in rural areas.
Rural youth affected
Among those aged 15 to 29, the decrease in the EPR of rural men and women was higher than that of their urban counterparts in 2017-18. The graph shows the EPR among usual workers aged 15 to 29.
Lower quality of jobs
Though the share of salaried workers has gone up, the quality of jobs has come down among rural men. The table on the right shows the % of regular wage/salaried rural workers without written job contracts.
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 59.4 | 56.8 |
| 2009-10 | 61.1 | 55.3 |
| 2011-12 | 65.1 | 61.9 |
| 2017-18 | 71.7 | 58.5 |
% of regular rural workers not eligible for paid leave
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 47.3 | 48.7 |
| 2009-10 | 50.2 | 47.6 |
| 2011-12 | 51.7 | 48.1 |
| 2017-18 | 58.1 | 47.9 |
% of regular rural workers not eligible for social benefits
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 55.5 | 60.8 |
| 2009-10 | 55.8 | 61.5 |
| 2011-12 | 56.8 | 65.4 |
| 2017-18 | 51.9 | 55.1 |