Workforce and Unemployment

In Formalization Of Workforce

Over the years, the quality of employment has been deteriorating, depriving a vast section of social and economic security. 

However, a small section of workers can get regular income. They can protect their interests through labour laws and form trade unions to bargain with the employers. 

Division of workforce in formal and informal sectors

• Formal Sector: All public and private sector organizations with at least ten hired employees are called formal sector establishments. The workers who work in such setups are known as formal sector workers. 
• Informal Sector: All other enterprises and workers working in those enterprises form the informal sector.
• Formal sector workers enjoy better social security and income. 
• Since the late 1970s, the Indian Government has been paying attention to the workers employed in the informal sector.
• Owing to the efforts of the International Labour Organization (ILO), efforts to modernize the informal sector and provide for better social security to the workers there have been made. 

Unemployment

Unemployment refers to a situation where people are actively looking for jobs but still cannot find it. Once in a while, they are constrained to look for work through business trades, middle people, companions, or family members or make applications to imminent bosses. They express their eagerness or accessibility for work under contemptible conditions and compensations.

To identify the unemployed, there are three primary sources to get data from:

• Reports of Census of India
• Reports of  National Sample Survey Office
• Annual Reports of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, and Directorate General of Employment and Training Data of Registration with Employment Exchanges. 

Types of Unemployment:

• The one defined by the NSSO definition is called “open unemployment.”
• The term “disguised unemployment” refers to situations in which part of the workforce is either unemployed or working in such a redundant fashion that productivity among the workers is nearly zero. The only factor that has no bearing on overall output is high levels of unemployment. When productivity is low and there are too many people vying for too few jobs, the economy is exhibiting disguised unemployment.
• According to a study conducted in the late 1950s, about one-third of Indian agriculture workers are unemployed.
• Another form is Seasonal Unemployment, where workers migrate to urban areas in search of work during the season when there is no work on the farm. 

However, the governments are taking several initiatives to facilitate a living wage for low-income families. 

Government and Employment Generation

The government follows two broad strategies to facilitate employment generation.

• Firstly, the government employs people in various departments and workers in government-run industries for administrative purposes
• Due to increased output in the public sector, spillover growth impact is also observed in the private sector, increasing employment there  
• Secondly, come the employment generation programs such as MGNREGA, National Food for Work Programme, Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment, Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana etc. They aim at providing not only employment but also services in areas such as primary health, primary education, rural drinking water, nutrition, etc
• Financial assistance for people to purchase assets that can generate employment and bring income, development of community assets, financial aid for constructing houses, laying of rural roads, development of wastelands, etc.

Causes of Unemployment in India

• Caste Issue: Unemployment in India is caused by a variety of social factors. The caste system is widely practised in India. Certain castes are barred from working in certain places
• Dependency on family business: There will be many people like this in large joint families with large businesses, who don’t work and are completely reliant on the joint income of the family
• Overpopulation: In India, the rapid rise in the country’s population has proven to be problematic. It is a significant contributor to the current state of the labour market
• Agriculture over dependency: In India, agriculture still accounts for about half of the workforce. India, on the other hand, has a severely underdeveloped agricultural sector. In addition, it creates temporary work opportunities
• Stagnation of Small Businesses: Small businesses suffered a setback as a result of industrialization. Many artists lost their jobs due to a decrease in cottage industry production
• Unwillingness to move: In India, the mobility of workers is minimal. People are less likely to seek work in distant locales because of their strong ties to their immediate families. Language, religion, and climate all contribute to a person’s inability to move around.
• Lack of specialized skills: Jobs in the capitalist world have grown increasingly specialized, but India’s education system does not provide the necessary training and specialization. As a result, many people who are willing to work but lack the necessary abilities are left out of the workforce.

Conclusion

Indian unemployment does not reflect the country’s real problems with joblessness. Among its problems are a low employment rate and a discouraged young female labour force. Around 60% of the Indian population must be employed for the country to grow.