Lok Sabha Question No. 2208 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-24
Subject: Unemployment Rate in the Country
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: RAM KUMAR SHARMA KUSHWAHA, BALASUBRAMANIAM SENGUTTUVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2208 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24TH DECEMBER, 2018

## UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE COUNTRY

2208.  SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA: SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  International  Labour  Organisation  (ILO)  in  its  Report  on  World Employment  and  Social  Outlook  has  predicted  that  globally  the  number  of  the unemployed persons would increase by 3.4 million in the year 2017 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  ILO  had  in  its  report  further  predicted  that  the  number  of  the unemployed persons in India would go up by about 1 lakh in 2017 and by about 2 lakhs in the year 2018 and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the ILO has further predicted that India's unemployment rate would go down from 3.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent in 2019 and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether globally Asia, home to 60 percent of global work force, and south Asia and  India  in  particular,  generate  more  employment  than  other  countries  in  the world and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the negative effect of this global fall is also being reflected in India as well and if so, the details thereof along with the assessment regarding the said negative effect in the country and the steps taken/being taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a)  to  (e):  The  International  Labour  Organisation  (ILO)  has  released  a  report  'World Employment Social Outlook, Trends 2017'.  As per the report, it is projected that the estimated number of unemployed persons in the World is expected to increase from 197.7 million in 2016 to 201.1 million in 2017.

The report also projected that the unemployed persons in India is expected to grow from 17.7 million in 2016 to 17.8 million in 2017 and 18.0 million in 2018. At the same time the unemployment rate is projected to 3.5% in 2016 and 3.4% in 2017 & 2018. As  per  the  report  the  net  employment  in  the  Asia  and  the  Pacific  region expanded by over 20 million in 2016, equivalent to growth of around 1.1 per cent, with a similar expansion anticipated in 2017. Southern Asia has created most of the new employment. The majority of this new employment was created in India. As per the ILO  modelled  estimate  the  estimated  employment  in  India  is  expected  to  rise  from 494.8 million in 2016 to 508.8 million in 2018. Further,  employment  generation  coupled  with  improving  employability  is  the priority  of  the  Government.  Government  has  taken  various  steps  for  generating employment in the country like encouraging private sector of economy, fast-tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Pt.  Deen  Dayal Upadhyaya  Grameen  KaushalyaYojana  (DDU-GKY)  and  Deendyal  Antodaya  YojanaNational Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM). Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana has been launched by the Ministry of Labour  and  Employment  for  incentivising  employers  for  promoting  employment generation. Under this scheme, Government is paying entire employer's contribution (12%  or  as  admissible)  towards  EPF  and  EPS  for  all  eligible  new  employees  for  all sectors for 3 years. Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY)  has  been  initiated  since  April,  2015  by Government for facilitating  self-employment.  Under  PMMY  collateral  free  loans  upto Rs.  10  lakh,  are  extended  to  small/micro  business  enterprises  and  to  individuals  to enable them to setup or expand their business activities. Government has implemented the National Career Service (NCS) Project which comprises  a  digital  portal  that  provides  a  nation-wide  online  platform  for  the  job seekers and employers for job-matching in a dynamic, efficient and responsive manner and has a repository of career content to job seekers.

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