India's employment grew at 6% in FY24, shows RBI data

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday that the country added 46.7 million jobs in the fiscal year ending March, far exceeding numbers in private surveys that point to high unemployment rates in the South Asian nation.

The employment growth rate was 6 per cent in 2023/24 versus 3.2 per cent in 2022/23, the Reserve Bank data on measuring industry level productivity and employment showed.

Analysts linked the lack of jobs and high inflation with Modi's failure in polls last month to win a majority in the directly elected house of the parliament, meaning he had to rely on allies to return to power for a third term.

India's total employment stood at 643.3 million in 2023/24 versus 596.7 million in FY23, RBI data showed. The central bank uses data from the government's National Accounts and Ministry of Labour to extrapolate the country's productivity and employment levels.

The report, a routine release from the central bank, has traditionally only shown historic numbers. On Monday, however, the central bank said it is attempting a provisional estimate of productivity for the total economy for the first time for the financial year 2023/24 based on available information.