Data on temporary or permanent loss of jobs in MSME sector not maintained: Mos MSME

Skill, labour, talent for MSMEs: Post-Covid, 63,248 people working in the MSME sector lost their jobs between July 1, 2020 and July 20, 2022.

Written by MSME Desk

February 19, 2023 13:31 IST

jobs, employment, small business jobs, msme jobs, udyam portal, bhanu pratap singh verma, parliament, rajya sabha, budget session, eclgs, narayan rane

The number of people employed in MSMEs incorporated in FY19, FY20, FY21, FY22 and FY23 (till February 1) and registered on the Udyam portal stood at 65.35 lahks, 71.33 lahks, 1.17 crore, 1.36 crore and 1.11 crore respectively.

Skill, labour, talent for MSMEs: While the government intends to increase employment in the MSME sector from around 11 crore people currently, there is no information available for the number of jobs lost in the sector. According to the minister of state in the MSME ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, the data on the temporary or permanent loss of jobs in the MSME sector is not maintained by the government as MSMEs are present in both formal and informal sectors. Verma was responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session on the number of job losses in the MSME sector during the last five years.

Also read: Over 1 crore people employed in MSMEs incorporated in FY22, shows govt data

However, post-Covid, 63,248 people working in the MSME sector lost their jobs between July 1, 2020 and July 20, 2022. This included 19,862 jobs lost in FY21, 42,662 in FY22, and 724 till July FY23, as per data shared by Verma in the Rajya Sabha on July 26, 2022. The job losses were respectively reported across 2,870 Udyam-registered MSMEs that were shut between July 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, followed by 6,222 MSMEs shutting in FY22, and 175 Udyam units that got closed between April 1 and July 20 this financial year.

On the other hand, the number of people employed in MSMEs incorporated in FY19, FY20, FY21, FY22 and FY23 (till February 1) and registered on the Udyam portal stood at 65.35 lahks, 71.33 lahks, 1.17 crore, 1.36 crore and 1.11 crore respectively.

Also read: Number of MSMEs closed in FY23 so far surpasses total closures during 2016-2022: Govt data

Meanwhile, according to the State Bank of India’s (SBI) special report on the MSME sector in January this year, MSME accounts worth Rs 2.2 lakh crore or around 12 per cent of the outstanding MSME credit was saved from slipping into the NPA category because of the ECLGS scheme. Turning NPAs would have led to unemployment for 1.65 crore workers working with these MSMEs and hence, the ECLGS scheme had saved the livelihood of 6.6 crore people assuming four family members per worker, the report said.