Govt plans to institute one of its kind Annual Employment Survey
- An estimated million people are joining India’s workforce every month, thanks to its demographic dividend of a high number of youth in the population.
- As of now, the only employment data in India is available through
- quinquennial (once every five years) surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO),
- a limited ad-hoc survey of employment in a few sectors that was initiated by the Labour Bureau after the global financial crisis in 2008 and
- the Annual Survey of Industries (which only captures the employees of the registered factories).
- By contrast, developed markets have quarterly official data on employment, if not monthly reports, that help them assess the state of the economy better.
New employment survey
- The government could soon launch a first of its kind annual employment survey, with the ability to generate quarterly reports on job market trends in certain segments like urban India.
- The plan is to release such employment data soon after the surveys, unlike other official data, by using modern technology
- The NSSO has readied the design, modalities and mechanisms for conducting the survey and could start as soon as the nod comes for the formal proposal of the Statistics Ministry.
- The National Statistics Commission had first called for a periodic labour force survey in 2009 and a pilot survey was undertaken in 2012-13. The design of the new annual employment survey has been finalised on the basis of a peer and stakeholder review of the pilot survey’s outcomes.
Current Data:
- As of now, the only employment data in India is available through quinquennial (once every five years) surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), a limited ad-hoc survey of employment in a few sectors that was initiated by the Labour Bureau after the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Annual Survey of Industries (which only captures the employees of the registered factories).
- By contrast, developed markets have quarterly official data on employment, if not monthly reports, that help them assess the state of the economy better.
Significance
- The new survey will lead to better mapping of the economy
- It will enable policymakers to react faster to labour market movements and track job creation goals.
