The Indian government has strongly refuted a recent Citigroup report on the state of employment in India, calling into question its credibility and methodology. In a statement released Monday, the Ministry of Labour and Employment criticized the report for failing to consider all official data sources available in the public domain.
The Citigroup report, which has been widely cited in media outlets, forecasted that India would struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities even with a 7% growth rate. It estimated that India needs to generate about 12 million jobs annually over the next decade to absorb new entrants into the labor market, but predicted the country could only create 8-9 million jobs per year at a 7% growth rate.
Countering these claims, the Ministry pointed to data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS database. According to these sources, India has created more than 80 million employment opportunities from 2017-18 to 2021-22, averaging over 20 million jobs per year.
“This significant employment creation demonstrates the effectiveness of various government initiatives aimed at boosting employment across sectors,” the Ministry said.
The government also highlighted improvements in key labor market indicators, including the Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, and Unemployment Rate. It noted that EPFO data shows a significant increase in formal job creation, with more than 13 million subscribers joining in 2023-24, more than double the figure from 2018-19.
The Ministry criticized private data sources cited in the Citigroup report, stating they often use derived definitions of employment and unemployment that don’t align with national or international standards. It cautioned against relying on such sources over official statistics.
Citing EPFO data, the ministry said more and more workers are joining formal jobs. During 2023-24, more than 1.3 crore subscribers joined EPFO which is more than double compared to 61.12 lakh joined EPFO during 2018-19. Moreover, during last six and half years (since September, 2017 to March, 2024) more than 6.2 crore net subscribers have joined EPFO.
The data from National Pension System (NPS) indicates that more than 7.75 lakh new subscribers have joined the NPS during 2023-24 under the Central and State governments which is 30% more than 5.94 lakh new subscribers joining NPS under government sector during 2022-23.
On new employment opportunities, the ministry asserted that the future prospects of the employment market in India are highly encouraging. The Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India have shown remarkable growth in recent years, the gig economy also promises significant increase in workforce in the country.
(Inputs from ANI)