More jobs, less takers: Only 87 lakh applied against 1.09 crore openings in FY24

In what seems to be an interesting trend, there were fewer takers for jobs listed on the National Career Service (NCS) portal in FY24. The number of job-seekers registered through the government portal in FY24 stood at 87,27,900 against 1,092,4161 job vacancies.

The data also suggests that in FY24 the number of jobs available on the portal saw a 214 percent or almost a three-time jump over the previous year, ANI reported quoting NCS data.

Vacancies posted on the portal stood at 1,092,4161 in FY24 compared to 34,81,944 vacancies in FY23. However, the growth of job seekers was a mere 53 percent at 87,20,900 in FY24 compared to 57,20,748 in FY23.

The ANI report quoted a government official who said that the surge in job vacancies signifies a higher growth in the economy. 

Notably, on March 30, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Mumbai that India may grow 8 percent or more in F24. "You had three-quarters of growth above 8 percent, and hopefully, the fourth quarter which ends tomorrow, will also be 8 percent or above, resulting in 2023-24 having a GDP growth of 8 percent or above," Sitharaman had said.

Sector-wise break up

In FY24, the highest number of job vacancies listed on the NCS portal was in the finance and insurance sector with 46,68,845 vacancies, a 134 percent jump over the previous year.

This was followed by the operations and support sector with 14,46,404 listed vacancies, registering a 286 percent jump over previous year. The civil and construction sector saw a boom in vacancies with 11,75,900 open positions compared to 9,396 vacancies in FY23. Job vacancies in other service activities saw a 199 percent jump in FY24 at 10,70,206 vacancies compared to 3,58,177 vacancies in FY23.

The NCS data also shows that jobs in manufacturing saw a jump of 526 percent in FY24 at 6,89,466 vacancies versus 1,10,175 in FY23. 

Significant growth was seen in job vacancies in other sectors like IT & communications, transport & storage, education and specialised professional services.

Education-wise demand

For those who passed the 12th standard, 68,77,532 vacancies were posted a jump of 179 percent compared to FY23. For those who passed the 10th standard or below, there were 27,04,280 openings, which was 452 per cent up from the previous year. For ITI and diploma holders 4,02,192 jobs were posted in FY24, which was 378 percent more than in FY23.

Jobs for graduates recorded a 129 percent rise in FY24 with 7,33,277 listed vacancies, while for them 60,531 listings were for post-graduate, PhD or PG diploma holders, an increase of 123 percent from Y23.

The data on the government portal suggests that there were enough jobs available for every category of job seekers. However, demand was more for low-skilled and low-paid jobs. 

The number of active employers on the NCS job portal stands at 15,64,800, an 89 percent jump compared to FY23.