India

India adds 46.6 million jobs in 2023-24, employment hits 643.3 million: RBI report

Reserve Bank of India headquarter. [File Photo]

New Delhi: The latest data from the Reserve Bank of India has revealed that 46.6 million new jobs were created in the Indian economy during 2023-24.

The total employment in the country increased from 596.7 million in 2022-23 to 643.3 million by March 31, 2024. While an average of 20 million jobs was created annually between 2017-18 and 2021-22, this number more than doubled in 2023-24.

The RBI’s KLEMS database tracks five key production inputs: Capital (K), Labour (L), Energy (E), Materials (M), and Services (S). It covers 27 industries, aggregated into six sectors representing the entire economy. For the first time, the RBI provided a provisional estimate of total economy productivity for FY24 based on available data, reflecting labor quality through education levels.

Employment increased across various education levels and age groups, and the unemployment rate dropped to 1.4 percent in FY24 from 2.2 percent in FY18.

The services sector, excluding construction, now absorbs most of the workforce transitioning from agriculture, a shift from the 2000-2011 period when construction provided the bulk of new jobs. Additionally, there has been a rise in the share of educated workers in high-skilled activities like financial and business services, education, and healthcare.

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