The Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and yet again voters in this country want jobs. A survey by the Association for Democratic Reforms among 2.7 lakh citizens who are 18 and above found that better employment opportunities is the topmost priority of voters in the country, barring some urban constituencies which prioritise traffic decongestion, better roads or clean air higher.
The survey, conducted between October and December 2018 across 534 LS constituencies, also asked voters to rate the govt¡¯s performance, which was deemed ¡°below average¡± ¡ª a score less than 3 on a scale of 5 ¡ª on all 31 listed priorities.
The worst performance, as rated by voters, was on encroachment of public land, training for jobs and eradication of corruption.
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Prioritisation of better job opportunities increased from 30% in 2017 to 47% in 2018 even as the government¡¯s score on the issue declined from 3.17 to 2.15 on a scale of 5.
Recently, a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017-18 revealed that the actual size of India¡¯s male workforce, or men who are working has shrivelled for the first time since 1993-94. Currently, there are 28.6 crore employed male in the country.
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The NSSO report was reviewed by Indian Express.
This is the first drop in the male workforce that gradually grew from 21.9 crore in 1993-94 to 30.4 crore in 2011-12 when the last NSSO survey was conducted. The data means that fewer men were employed in 2017-18 than five years ago.
Moving on to the Indian female workers, their condition doesn't paint a good picture either. Indian women workers, especially in the informal sector, are on the sharp edge of job crisis in the country.
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According to the private Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), 90 per cent of around 10 million jobs lost last year were held by women.
Given the rate at which job seekers population is rising, its time the ruling dispensation pay heed to the rallying cries of these people.