Target for Employment Growth

As per results of the two most recent rounds of quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by the Union Labour & Employment Ministry on employment and unemployment conducted by National Sample Survey Office during 2004-05 and 2009-10, about 20 million additional job opportunities were created at an average rate of growth of around 1 per cent per year during 2004-05 to 2009-10.It is noteworthy that Eleventh Five year Plan aimed at creating 58 million additional job opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour force on current daily status basis at an average rate of growth of 2.73 percent per annum from projected employment of about 402 million at the beginning of the Eleventh Five Year Plan to about 460 million at the end of the Plan.

Gross Domestic Product has grown at a compound growth rate of 8.6 percent per annum during 2004-05 to 2009-10 whereas employment estimated on current daily status basis has grown at the rate of about 1 percent during the same period.

Approach Paper to Twelfth Plan highlights that for the growth to be inclusive; it must create adequate livelihood opportunities and add to decent employment commensurate with the expectations of a growing labour force. There is a potential for an accelerated pace of creation of more durable rural non-farm jobs/livelihood opportunities. Such job opportunities could come from faster expansion in agro-processing, supply chains and the increased demand for technical personnel for inputs into various aspects of farming that is undergoing steady modernisation, and also the maintenance of equipment and other elements of rural infrastructure. The services sector too has to continue to be a place for creation of decent jobs/livelihood opportunities, in both rural and urban areas.