It may seem strange but India doesn’t have any real time data or statistics on unemployment and employment in the rural and urban areas of the country. Though the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the States employ the same people to conduct the surveys, there are wide variations in the results.
Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), which conducts national sample surveys, is in the process of launching a Periodic labour Force Survey (PlFS) for generating quarterly estimates of employment and unemployment for urban and rural areas.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recently found some contradictory data, which indicates a casual approach towards the handling of this crucial information on the employment and unemployment scenario in the country.
Replying to a query pertaining to the official data on the issue being released quinquennially by the NSSO, the MOSPI stated that it will soon launch PlFS for generating quarterly estimates of employment and unemployment in urban areas and annual estimates for the same in urban and rural areas.
The standing committee report was recently tabled in Parliament. “The PlFS is expected to be launched shortly and thereafter will continue on a regular basis,” the Ministry told the committee.
The committee, headed by senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily made a specific query to the MOSPI whether developed nations including the United States of America generate regular data on employment and unemployment.
According to the report, the committee was constrained to note the Ministry’s continued engaging of contractual staff to collect primary data through field surveys, despite its own admission that sample surveys conducted by contract employees may affect the quality of data collected. “They are also concerned on the wide variations in the results of sample surveys conducted by NSSO and various State Governments. There is an over-lapping of surveys with conflicting and varied results, although the NSSO and the States employ the same people to conduct the surveys,” the committee said in its report.
According to the Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey Report 2015-16 conducted by labour Bureau, the labour Force Participation Rate (lFPR) was estimated to be 50.3 per cent under the Usual Principal Status (UPS) approach at the all-India level or in other words 50.3 per cent of the people aged 15 years and above were either working or seeking work during the reference period.
In the rural sector, the lFPR was estimated to be 53 per cent, whereas in the urban sector the lFPR was 43.5 per cent under the UPS approach while the unemployment rate was estimated to be 5.0 per cent at the all-India level under the UPS approach or in other words 5.0 per cent of the people aged 15 years and above who were available for work could not get work during the reference period.
In the rural sector, the unemployment rate was 5.1 per cent whereas in the urban sector, the unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent under the UPS approach.
MOSPI officials said that most of the data collection was being done through contract workers. “At least 861 vacancies in Subordinate Statistical Service in the Ministry are lying vacant, which was affecting the working of the Ministry. Due to shortage of manpower, the department depends on contractual employees for sample surveys,” said officials.
The Moily Committee has also asked the Ministry to hold wide consultations with the State Governments to find ways to synergise the survey procedures and methodologies to put an end to such variations once and for all so as to ensure qualitative and reliable data through them.