INDIA'S GDP GROWTH LEADS TO MORE AND BETTER JOBS

Subramanian defended the accuracy of PLFS data while noting methodological discrepancies in comparison to CMIE data.

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India’s employment landscape has shown significant improvement, according to KV Subramanian, the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India. In an exclusive interview, he highlighted the positive impact of India’s GDP growth on employment, citing reliable data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).

During the COVID-19 lockdown and the second wave, there was a temporary worsening of the employment situation in India, as evident in the PLFS data. However, Subramanian emphasized that the employment situation has since improved significantly and is now better than pre-COVID levels.

Key findings from the PLFS data include: 

Increase in Regular Employees and Salaried Workers: The number of regular employees and salaried workers in India increased from 11.5 crores in 2017-18 to 13 crores, marking a 13% improvement. Notably, this trend was more pronounced among females, with a 29.4% increase, and among males, showing an 8.8% rise. Formal employment also saw a boost, increasing by 1.2 crores or 25.3%.