While India?s workforce is set to rise by more than 11 crore in this decade, the employment exchanges have failed to provide jobs to even one-tenth of the people registered with them, giving rise to demand of employment exchanges privatisation. Data shows that on an average from 2004 onwards about 58 lakh job seekers approached the employment exchanges across the country for jobs while only 1.8 lakh of them were provided employment each year.
The dismal performance in providing jobs has triggered calls from global financial services firms like Goldman Sachs and Citi for policy changes and other measures including privatisation of the employment exchanges to provide better service at lower costs. ?We suggest privatisation of information bureaus to reduce search costs for labour, encouragement for more on-the-job training through tax incentives, and retraining workers who are out of jobs,? Goldman Sachs said in a recent note.
Employment exchanges function as the link between job seekers and employers by making submissions of suitable candidates to the employers against the vacancies notified to them. Minister of state for labour and employment Harish Rawat recently pointed out that while the Centre does not have any proposal in place to provide employment after a prescribed period of registration, they are persuading state governments to take various steps like organisation of job-melas , e-career conference, promotion of self employment schemes, putting the data of job-seekers on the website/internet to enhance the scope of placement of job seekers registered.
?While efforts toward stepping up employment generation and enhancing skill sets are under way, we think more needs to be done to address the mismatch between the growing workforce and opportunities available,? says Citi economist Rohini Malkani. She added that ?in addition to labour reforms aimed at including the unorganised sector more is needed in the areas of skill development and in creating institutions and employment exchanges.?
A recent NCAER survey showed that on an average 1.4 person in every Indian household is engaged in a remunerative occupation. Economists point out that unless the government tinker with the policy allowing a larger section of the population to take part in remunerative jobs the benefits of 9% plus growth will not reach bottom of the pyramid. But lack of any timely and credible government data on employment constrains government?s efforts.
?We have been looking at ways in which employment data can be provided without a time lag. It is a much needed enabler for the policy makers,? chief statistician TCA Anant told FE. Lack of any credible up-to-date statistics on employment also constraints the ability of the government to take tailor made measures to use the demographic dividends.
?Annual Report to the People on Employment? shows that aggregate employment in the fiscal year ended last March is 506 million out of an estimated labor force of 520 million.