K'taka adds 11% new jobs to India's job-kitty

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka has generated net formal employment of over 67.94 lakhs over the last five years, according to the Karnataka Jobs Report 2022-23. .

This accounts for nearly 11 per cent of the net new formal job addition in India. The report shows that more than 24 per cent of the workforce in Karnataka was employed in the formal sector which is higher than the national average of 20 per cent. K Ullas Kamath, Chairman, FICCI Karnataka State Council said, “The findings in the report indicate that Karnataka is a leader in formal job creation in India."

The report suggests that an uptick in employment Provident Fund was seen during 2021-22 when 1.38 crore workers joined the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) A total of 38 per cent new jobs created in the formal sector were contributed by expert services sectors like manpower agencies, private security agencies, and small contractors.

Sectors like building and construction, trading and commercial establishments, engineering, electronic, mechanical, and general engineering products, and textile and garment making have all contributed to 1.56 crore jobs. The report also highlights an estimation of India’s informal workforce, where about 45.6 crores of individuals are employed.

The report delves into the gender breakdown of the subscribers of the National Pension Scheme, which shows that, over the last five years, male subscribers outnumber female subscribers. The same fashion could be seen in EPFO and ESIC, indicating that males outnumber females in the formal job sector. Informal job sector Unlike the for mal job sector, females outnumbered males in the informal job sector, as per registrations in the eShram portal.

Agricultural sector dominates informal employment More than 52% of informal job registrations on the eShram portal are from the agricultural sector. Focus on development The increased focus on infrastructure development and urbanization in India in recent times has resulted in increased employment in this sector which is reflected in the fact that 9% of registrations on the eShram portal are from the construction sector.

The job report in its recommendations stressed on the importance of detailed districtwise analysis, the need to formulate a policy to bring informal workers into the ambit of formal workers and the need for an incentive-based program focused on 10 poor and backward districts.