In just a week, between August 14 and August 21, more than 7 lakh people registered.

A GOVERNMENT jobs portal launched by the Prime Minister on July 11 has seen registration of over 69 lakh individuals in just 40 days. But the number of individuals who got jobs is just a fraction of those who registered, showing that employment will be the biggest political economy challenge for the government as it restarts economic activities while trying to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In just a week, between August 14 and August 21, more than 7 lakh people registered. The number of people who took up jobs during the week, however, stood at just 691.

According to data collated by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on its ASEEM (Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping) portal, only 2 per cent of the 3.7 lakh candidates looking for jobs have actually got one. Of the 69 lakh migrant workers who registered, 1.49 lakh were offered jobs, but only 7,700 could join work.

Sources in the ministry said the portal was to assist people trained in various skills over a period of time. Those who registered are not just migrant workers, they said. Self-employed tailors, electricians, field-technicians, sewing machine operators and fitters top the list of aspirants, while the demand is high for courier delivery executives, nurses, accounts executives, manual cleaners and sales associates.

The data shows states including Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, face acute shortage of workers. These states had witnessed an exodus of migrant workers, mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, since the lockdown commenced in March. The number of candidates scouting for jobs, has gone up by 80 per cent in a week — 3.78 lakh from 2.97 lakh during August 14-21, but the number of candidates who actually took up jobs has increased by just 9.87 percent — 7,009 to 7,700 — during this period. The number of registered people on the portal too has increased by 11.98 per cent – 61.67 to 69 lakh in the week ending August 21.

Women constitute only 5.4 per cent of the people looking for jobs under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, launched in 116 districts by the Prime Minister in June, as per the data on Assem portal.

As many as 514 companies are registered on the portal, of which 443 have posted 2.92 lakh jobs. Of this, 1.49 lakh have been offered to job seekers, shows the data.

In the week ended on August 21, the number of active companies (which have posted at least 1 job) on the portal has marginally gone up to 443 from 419 during the previous week.

Logistics, healthcare, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail and construction are top give sectors which offered about 73.4 percent of jobs on the portal.

As far as the supply side of trained/skilled workers is concerned, 42.3 per cent of people registered seeking jobs are from top states—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

Of the total jobs posted on the portal, more than 77 per cent are in five states—Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, shows the data.

However, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, expressed his optimism about the high number of skilled youth in the country. “Our skilled youth will be able to play an important role in accelerating the development journey of India. To accelerate self-reliance and Skill India Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to connect the youth in the country with new employment opportunities, our ASEEM portal will surely give impetus to our continuous efforts to bridge supply and demand in the market. Our skilled workforce will ensure increased productivity and better outcomes for our industries.” Pandey told The Indian Express.