Govt cites data on job creation to refute Citigroup report on employment in India

New Delhi: The government on Monday refuted the Citigroup report that claims sufficient jobs are not being created in India, saying it fails to consider the positive trends and comprehensive data from official sources.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has cited detailed data which are in the public domain to contradict Citigroup's claim.

“The recent research report by Citigroup on Employment in India quoted by some of the print and electronic media, which forecasts that India will struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities even with a seven per cent growth rate, fails to account for the comprehensive and positive employment data available from official sources such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Reserve Bank of India's KLEMS data,” an official statement said.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment said that it strongly rebuts such reports which do not analyse all official data sources available in the public domain

RBI’s KLEMS data indicates that more than 8 crore (80 million) employment opportunities were created from 2017-18 to 2021-22 translating to an average of over 2 crore (20 million) jobs per year, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said.

More than 6.2 crore net subscribers Joined EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) between September 2017 - March 2024 and there has also been a substantial increase in new subscribers joining NPS (National Pension Scheme), it added.

The ministry also pointed out that the annual Period Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report depicts an improving trend in the labour market indicators related to (i) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), (ii) Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and (iii) Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above during 2017-18 to 2022-23. For instance, the WPR i.e. employment has increased from 46.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 56 per cent in 2022-23. Similarly, labour force participation has also increased in the country from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 57.9 per cent in 2022-23. The unemployment rate has declined from 6.0 per cent in 2017-18 to a low of 3.2 per cent in 2022-23.

The government is committed to creating a robust and inclusive job market, the statement added.