Employment: Growth, Informalisation and Other Issues

All those who are engaged in economic activities, in whatever capacity, are called workers. This includes paid workers, self-employed persons, helpers, and even those who are temporarily away from work because of illness, bad weather, festivals, or other reasons.

The worker-population ratio is an indicator used to analyse the employment situation. It shows the proportion of the population that is actively contributing to the production of goods and services. It is calculated by dividing the total number of workers by the total population and multiplying by 100.

No. A worker is one who is engaged in economic activity that contributes to the gross national product. A beggar, thief, smuggler or gambler does not produce goods or services that add to national output, so they are not regarded as workers in this chapter.

The odd one out is the cashier in Mother Dairy or Milk Cooperative Society because this is a regular salaried employee. The others are self-employed or casual workers.

The chapter says that the newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the service sector.

An establishment with four hired workers has fewer than 10 hired workers, so it is an informal sector establishment. Formal sector establishments employ 10 hired workers or more.

Yes. A person who is engaged in economic activity is a worker. Since Raj works on his farm when he is not in school, he is contributing to production and can be considered a worker.

More rural women are found working because rural households have limited resources and women often have to participate in farm labour and other activities like cooking, fetching water and fuelwood. In urban areas, many families discourage women from working, especially where men can earn enough income. Also, many women's household activities are not recognised as work.

Yes. Even though she is a housewife, she also works in the cloth shop owned and operated by her husband. Since she is helping in a business and contributing to economic activity, she should be considered a worker.

The odd one out is the cashier in State Bank of India because this is a regular salaried employee. The others are self-employed or casual wage labourers.

In 1972–73, most of India’s workforce was in the primary sector. The table shows that 74.3% of workers were in the primary sector, while only 10.9% were in the secondary sector and 14.8% in services. This reflects that India was then largely an agrarian economy. Rural areas had a much larger workforce than urban areas, and women’s participation in paid work was lower. The distribution shows that agriculture and allied activities were the main source of livelihood, with much less employment in industry and services.