Economic Survey 2023: Labour market recovered beyond pre-COVID levels; female participation improved

Economic Survey 2023 stated that labour markets have recovered beyond the pre-COVID levels in both urban and rural areas. Unemployment rates fell from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.2 in 2020-21, it said. It also added that the female labour force participation rate increased noticeably from 19.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 27.7 per cent in 2020-21. 

The survey, tabled at the Parliament on Tuesday, stated that more recent urban employment data shows that there has been progress beyond pre-pandemic levels as unemployment rate declined from 8.3 per cent in July-September 2019 to 7.2 per cent in July-September 2022. 

EPFO payroll has also seen a steady net addition, with the majority share coming from the youth. The Economic Survey said that employment in the nine major sectors increased by 10 lakh over the year 2021-22 as per the QES. 

It stated that employment in the organised manufacturing sector has also risen over the years, as per the ASI 2019-20 data. 

The survey said that the steady increase in employment levels can be attributed to multiple measures taken to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on MSMEs, street vendors, and manufacturing units. It said that the initiatives to provide job opportunities through targeted schemes and measures also helped in generation of jobs. 

The eShram portal developed for creating a national database of unorganised workers saw the registration of 28.5 crore unorganised workers till December 21, 2022, said the survey. 

“JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile) trinity, combined with the power of DBT (direct benefit transfer), has brought the marginalised sections of society into the formal financial system, revolutionising the path of transparent and accountable governance by empowering the people,” it stated. 

The survey quoted the findings of the 2022 report of the UNDP on Multidimensional Poverty Index to say that 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India between 2005-06 and 2019-20.

Also read: Economic Survey 2023 key highlights: India's economy may grow slowest in 3 years in FY24, and more