Turnaround in India's Employment Story

Creation of decent jobs outside agriculture is one of the biggest challenges that confront policymakers trying to achieve "faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth". The Indian economy grew at unprecedented rates during the Tenth (2002-07) and Eleventh (2007-12) Five-Year Plan periods, but it has been characterised by jobless growth and informalisation of jobs in the organised sector between 2004-05 and 2009-10. However, findings from the latest employment and unemployment survey of the National Sample Survey Office (2011-12) seem to suggest a reversal of joblessness with a significant increase in non-agricultural employment. The paper tries to assess the employment intensity of output growth through an examination of employment elasticity, and potential for employment generation during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012-17).