Amid the reports of unemployment, the retirement fund body EPFO data revealed that almost 9 lakh jobs were created in the month of January. The net enrollment in Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) in January was 8,96,516 which is highest since the month of September 2018 when 9,73,744 jobs were created. Given the inefficiency of Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) data, the government estimates the job creation through very innovative and efficient methods. The number of jobs created in the formal sector is being estimated on the basis of registrations made under EPFO, NPS, and IT filings, while in the unorganized sector, the employment opportunities are being estimated through activities in infrastructure, hotel industry, and transport sector.
The opposition has claimed that there is a huge unemployment problem in the country. The organizations like the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) carry out surveys with a very small sample size of almost 1.4 lakh households. The conclusion of huge unemployment is generated through a survey with such a small sample size. These surveys does not ask even proper question. The question asked to the people is whether you are employed. So, if the person does not have a permanent job but earning a decent amount of money even then s/he will say that they are unemployed. The proper question should be whether the person is earning income or not.
India has been the fastest growing major economy in the world under the leadership of PM Modi. The GDP has grown at a decent pace despite low private investment. The consumption has been a major growth driver which means people earned a decent amount of income. The other driver of GDP growth could be increase in Total Factor Productivity (TFR) or efficient delivery of welfare scheme which could have increased the income of people. Both of these go in favor of Modi government although these factors could not drive the GDP growth to the extent to make the country fastest-growing major economy in the world.
As per a survey conducted by ‘Confederation of Indian Industry’ (CII), the Modi government generated 1.49 crore jobs per year in the MSME sector. That’s a whopping 6 crore jobs in the last 4 years. The states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana created the highest number of jobs in the MSME sector.
The growth in the economy with a simultaneous increase in number of formal jobs demystifies the claim that economic growth under Modi government did not translate into jobs. These shady claims were made by the left-wing economists who have been looking for some points to criticise the Modi government. Moreover, the GDP growth is healthy and well sustained in the last four years and therefore, the economists came with a bizarre theory that although ‘GDP growth is good, jobs are not growing due to economic policies of the government’. The consistent growth in GDP, as well as the number of jobs, must be a reply to the bogus theory of the left-wing economists.