Even as unemployment falls, lack of ‘decent work’ in India, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• India's unemployment rate decreased from 6.1% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24.
• Despite falling unemployment, the Decent Work Index (DWI) for India rose only marginally from 0.247 to 0.302 between 2017-18 and 2023-24.
• Nearly 90% of India’s workforce remains informally employed, a share that has increased since 2019, as per the India Employment Report 2024.
• The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines 'decent work' as employment offering equitable income, workplace rights, social security, and dignity.
• Progress in decent work is uneven across sectors, regions, gender, and caste groups, with women from marginalized communities experiencing a decline.

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Detailed Insights:

• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was utilized to construct the multidimensional Decent Work Index (DWI) across five major industries.
• Manufacturing and transport sectors showed the highest improvement in DWI, driven by formalization, digitalization, and app-based platform work.
• Agriculture remains the lowest-quality employment sector, with most workers being self-employed or unpaid family workers lacking stable income.
• Informal employment has expanded into the gig economy, logistics, home-based production, and organized industries through contractualization.
• Regional disparities persist, with states like Goa and Kerala performing better than Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in decent work creation.
• The lack of decent work leads to lower spending, savings, productivity, and tax capacity, hindering India's goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
• Policy recommendations include extending social protection to all workers and linking formalization to mandatory worker protections.
• The e-Shram platform is a step towards worker registration, but real protection beyond database entry is needed.
• The four Labour Codes, introduced in 2025, aim to simplify regulations but face criticism regarding diminished worker protections due to rising contractualization.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Decent Work: Employment that provides equitable income, workplace rights, social security, and dignity, as defined by the ILO.
• Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG-8): Advocates for the promotion of sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
• Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): A large-scale household survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to estimate employment and unemployment indicators.
• Informal Employment: Work arrangements lacking formal contracts, social security benefits, and legal protections, often characterized by low pay and poor working conditions.