What the latest employment data show and what it means

The employment rate in India is gaining momentum, government data for October shows. This effectively signals that economic growth in the country is picking up. 

What does the data say?

The Ministry of Finance noted a significant increase in employment for the eighth consecutive month in October. 

“Employment components of PMI Manufacturing and PMI Services continue to be in an expansionary zone, with October 2022 data highlighting the eighth month of successive increase in employment across the Indian manufacturing industry driven by sales growth and a rise in output,” the ministry said. 

Net payrolls in September witnessed an on-year growth of 46 per cent, according to the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) records.

But why is this significant?

These numbers are significant as they come in the wake of mass layoffs by tech giants like Twitter, Facebook, Amazon and perhaps even Google, who are anticipating a global recession. 

The data shows that at such a time of impending economic slowdown, India displayed the strongest growth in the index of hiring intentions.

Which sectors are likely to hire the most numbers of people?

Among the sectors pulling the hiring bandwagon, IT and educational services sectors lead by a wide margin. According to October’s economic review, established businesses show higher intent of hiring than start-ups in the country. This is likely to create a significant volume of jobs amid favourable market conditions.

Is there any other data that supports this trajectory?

Yes, according to a Financial Express report, supporting the positive conditions was the data from the 16th Periodic Labour Force Survey by the National Statistical Office. 

The data showed that India’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in the urban regions of the country declined to 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, from 9.8 per cent during the same period previous year. 

The unemployment rate among females falling in that particular age group slid down from 11.6 per cent last year to 9.4 per cent in Q2FY23. Among males the rate came down to 6.6 per cent from 9.3 per cent in July-September quarter of 2021.