Job creation in India slows down by 6.9% in January: ESIC payroll data

• Job creation in India fell by 6.91% in January to 1.12 million, according to Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) payroll data.
  
• Indian Economy was able to create 1.20 million job same time last year.
  
• The ESIC scheme attracted nearly 20.8 million new subscribers from September 2017 to January 2019.

While unemployment in India stood at 7.2% in February this year, the number of jobs created in the country also fell by 6.91% in January. The number decreased to 1.12 million from 1.20 million during the same time last year, according to the numbers put out by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

The ESIC scheme includes health and medical benefits for organisations that have an employee base of more than 20 and to employees with monthly pay upto ₹21,000. At the time of joining, the workers with basic monthly pay up to 15,000 are included under the ESIC scheme.

According to ESIC scheme data, which provides health insurance and medical services, added nearly 20.8 million new subscribers from September 2017 to January 2019.

The payroll data, floated by the Central Statistics Office, is based on the working professionals joining social security schemes under Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA). Nearly 7.64 million subscribers were reportedly added to the scheme.

From last year onwards, the CSO has been rolling out statistics on jobs and employment covering the data from September 2017. The report is based on the number of subscribers under the three schemes — Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and National Pension Scheme (NPS).

However, the creation of jobs in the formal sector projected to a 17-month high at 896,000 in January 2019, the report highlighted.

With elections just around the corner, the numbers on employment and jobs has been affecting the country’s youth largely. According to a recent analysis by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate hits the highest for the highly educated segment — bachelor’s degree and above — at 13.2%.

See also:
India's unemployment rate for February highest in two years: CMIE

Fewer jobs for better educated: India’s unemployment rate stands at 13.2% among the highly educated segment

Male workforce is reportedly shrinking in India, reveals job survey by NSSO