'Factually Incorrect': Employment Ministry on Indians Quitting Workforce Report

The report was based on the data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private research firm in Mumbai, reported Bloomberg on Monday, 25 April.

(Photo: The Quint)

A day after reports emerged that millions of discouraged Indians, especially women, had stopped looking for jobs over slim opportunities in the past five years and are quitting the labour force entirely, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said that making such an inference was "factually incorrect."

The report was based on the data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a private research firm in Mumbai, reported Bloomberg on Monday, 25 April.

"Making an inference that half of the working-age population has lost hope for work is factually incorrect. Labour Force & Workforce in the country increased during 2017-18 to 2019-20," the ministry informed.

"Increase in the female labour force, as well as female worker population ratio during the year 2017-18 to 2019-20, is higher compared to increase in male Labour Force & Worker Population Ratio," the ministry added.

What Did the CMIE Report Say?

As per data, between 2017 and 2022, the overall labour participation rate dropped from 46 percent to 40 percent. Now, over half of the 900 million eligible Indians, roughly the population of the United States and Russia combined, don't want a job, said the CMIE report.

A total of 21 million women have also disappeared from the workforce with only 9 percent of the eligible population employed or looking for opportunities, the report stated.

The drop in the workforce can be attributed to factors predating the pandemic, and in a world of rapid technological change, many are simply falling behind in honing marketable skill-sets.

The CMIE report stated that many women are quitting the workforce due to safety or time-consuming responsibilities at home. Though they represent 49 percent of India's population, women contribute only 18 percent of its economic output, about half the global average, as per the report.

India has been dealing with job creation for years now. For India to achieve economic growth, it needs to create at least 90 million new non-farm jobs by 2030, according to a 2020 report by McKinsey Global Institute. To achieve that, the country would require an annual GDP growth of 8-8.5 percent.