Employment in the Country Increased to 64.33 crore in 2023-24, up from 47.5 crore in 2017-18: KLEMS Database

The KLEMS (K: Capital, L: Labour, E: Energy, M: Materials and S: Services) database published by  Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) provides employment estimates at all India level including public and private sectors. As per the latest data of the database, provisional estimates for 2023-24, employment in the country increased to 64.33 crore in year 2023-24 compared to 47.5 crore in 2017-18. Total increase in employment during 2017-18 to 2023-24 is about 16.83 crore.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) Payroll Data gives an idea of the level of employment in the formal sector. More than 1.3 crore net subscribers joined EPFO during 2023-24. Moreover, during last six and half years (since September 2017 to March 2024) more than 6.2 crore net subscribers have joined EPFO indicating increase in formalization of employment.

The data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since

2017-18. The survey period is July to June every year.

As per the latest available Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment, including public and private sector on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above during the years 2020-21 to 2022-23 are as follows:

                                                                 (in %)

                       Source: PLFS

The data indicates that the worker population ratio, indicating employment, has an increasing trend over the years in the country.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. Accordingly, the Government of India has taken various steps for generating employment in the country.

The various Ministries/ Departments of Government of India like Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Textile, etc. are implementing different employment generation schemes/ programmes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs),  Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY),  etc.

The details of various employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government of India may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes.