Punjab sets targets for work to jobless

CHANDIGARH: With the sudden stoppage of economic activities due to Covid curbs rendering a large number of people jobless, the Punjab government has fixed targets for districts for registering, counselling and training the jobless to help them find work and rev up the industria activity engine in the state.
These targets are to be achieved in the next 45 days (June 11 to July 25). If data in the recent report of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) is to be believed, the unemployment rate in the state in May was 33.6%.
All the district's employment bureaus have been given a target of registering 6,000 labourers each and ensuring jobs for them. In case of semi-skilled and skilled job-seekers, the target is 4,500. In a communication dated June 10, all the district heads have also been asked to register 1,500 individuals for self-employment and ensure loan disbursals to all those found eligible.
The state has also set targets for counselling and training of job-seekers, with each bureau being asked to counsel groups of the size of 20 applicants for at least one hour.
‘Workforce shortfall hurting industry’
They have also been asked to ensure one-onone counselling for at least 20 minutes for 150 individuals in the next 45 days.
There were 2.59 lakh registered industrial units in Punjab having 20.29 lakh employees before the restrictions were imposed. After commencement of Unlock 1.0, economic activities have started picking pace in the state with over 2.30 lakh units resuming operations with an estimated workforce of about 15 lakh.
With about 30,000 registered industrial units yet to resume operations, about 5 lakh industrial workers, including migrants and local residents, are estimated to be out of work.
Apart from unemployment, industrial units that have resumed operations in Punjab are complaining of shortage of labour caused by migrants returning back to their home states due to lack of work opportunities during the lockdown period.
To assist the industry in overcoming shortage of manpower, special attention is being given to help maximum people find jobs in these units.
An economist at Chandigarh-based Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman, appreciated the steps being taken by the Punjab government to help jobless people find work. He, however, pointed out that these steps will not be sufficient to address the large scale problem of unemployment.
As per the economic survey released earlier this year, the employment share of industry in Punjab stands at 33.1% while 26% of the workforce is employed in agriculture and allied activities.
Expressing concern over shortage of labour, Rahul Ahuja, chairman of the Confederation of Industry, Punjab maintained that nonavailability of required number of workforce is hurting the industry and will hurt the government in the long run as it will result in lower GST collection.
Punjab secretary, employment generation and training, Rahul Tiwari maintained that targets have been set keeping in mind the prevailing scenario of unemployment. Performance of all districts will be closely monitored so that set targets are achieved and maximum people get work.