MUMBAI: The latest Reserve Bank data showed the country has added 46.7 million new jobs in FY24 at 643.3 million, a rise of 6% over 596.7 million in FY23.
The RBI on Monday said this estimate is much more than the numbers that private surveys such as CMIE have been dishing out pointing to the high unemployment rates.
“Provisionally, employment generation grew 6% or 46.7 million in FY24 as against 3.2% in FY23,” data on ‘measuring industry level productivity and employment’ showed. The data-of productivity and employment levels is an extrapolation of government’s own National Accounts and the numbers from Union labour ministry.
The RBI data — otherwise a routine release has traditionally only shown historic numbers — but on Monday the central bank said it is attempting a provisional estimate of productivity for the total economy for the first time for FY24 based on officially available information. The data came within a week of a report by brokerage Citigroup, which said even a 7% GDP growth can only create 8-9 million jobs a year, far short of 11-12 million needed in a country with so much young population.
Many political analysts and economists blamed lack of jobs and high inflation as the main reasons for the BJP not getting a clear mandate in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls though the party went to polls seeking over 400 seats.
Citigroup economists in a weekend report said India will not have enough jobs, even with 7% GDP growth. RBI in its June review forecast the economy will grow 7.2% this fiscal, this was 20 bps more than the April forecast as the GDP printed in a surprisingly high 8.2% in FY24.