The month of July has been a relief on the employment front. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India created 16 million jobs or 1.6 crore, mainly in agriculture and construction sectors in July, although the number of salaried jobs declined by 3.2 million or 32 lakhs in the same month.
According to statistics, 1.12 crore jobs have been created in the agriculture sector during July 2021, while in the construction sector it has been 54 lakh and in the service sector it has been 5 lakh and in the manufacturing sector it has been 8 lakh.
1.6 Crore Jobs Created In July
Mahesh Vyas, MD and CEO of CMIE, said in his analysis, "India created a massive 16 million jobs or 1.6 crore, in July 2021, but all additional jobs provided by India in July were of poor quality. 18.6 million additional people were employed as small traders and daily wage workers."
He also said, "The increase in employment in the agriculture sector means that sowing activities are on the rise". However the monsoon wasnt good this time around. This has delayed the sowing of Kharif. By the end of June 2021, kharif crop sowing was more than 20 per cent lesser than the same period a year ago, while by the end of July, sowing was in more than 5 per cent deficit than a year ago. The sowing area in the month of July was 6.53 crore hectares as compared to 1.95 crore hectares in June. According to Mahesh Vyas, this led to employment opportunities in the agriculture sector.
1.2 Crore People Employed In Agriculture Sector In July
He also said that it has often been observed that this increase reaches a high level in July starting in the month of June and continues to rise in August. This appears to be a seasonal pattern. Then, in November,due to the kharif crop harvesting season the employment in the field of agriculture increases again. In July, 80 lakh to 12 million people gets employed in the agriculture sector. The figure stood at 1.12 crore in July this year.
However, he also said that there is every possibility that these agricultural labourers will become unemployed again as soon as the Kharif sowing session is over. In such a situation, alternative jobs opportunities should be provided for these workers as soon as the season ends.
Vyas further said that 5.4 million additional people were given jobs in the construction sector in the month of July. Eight lakh people have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector. Only 5 lakh people got additional jobs in the service sector. During this period, there has been a decline in good quality jobs in July. He further added that the number of salaried jobs in the month of July was 7.65 crore which is 32 lakh less than in June.