Jobs in India
Katharine Woodman-Maynard
With its population of over a billion people, India has a massive work force. As of 2005, the working population in India numbered 699.9 million people. Of that number, 610 million are between the ages of 15 and 60 years old. Only 10% of the workforce have regular employment. In 2008, unemployment was 7%. The average per capita income is $1043, ranked 136th in the world. 80% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
60% of the workforce in India works in agriculture, making it the most common occupation. Agriculture makes up 17% of the GDP in India, is ranked 2nd largest in the world in terms of agricultural output. However, the growth of employment in the agriculture industry is only .01%.
The industrial sector employs 17% of the workforce in India, one-third of those are involved in small-scale household manufacturing. In terms of factory output, it is 16th in the world. Textile manufacturing is the 2nd largest source of employment after agriculture. It makes up 26% of manufacturing output. Tirupir is known as a center of the textile industry. The industrial sector accounts for 29% of the GDP in the country.
28% of the workforce in India are in the service sector although it makes up 54% of the country’s GDP. IT, tech support, and outsourcing are included in the service sector and are among the fastest growing industries in India. Many overseas companies outsource work to India due to its large pool of highly skilled, low-cost, educated, and English- speaking workers. In 2006, 1.3 million workers were employed directly in the IT industry and in 2007, 3 million were employed indirectly.
In 2003, 31% of women in rural areas were employed compared to 11% in urban areas. In rural areas most women work in agriculture and some in cottage industries. In 2004, they made up 19% of India’s workforce. In 2005, 10.25-19.9% of children between the ages of 9 and 15 worked as laborers.
The Indian government has extensive labor laws—over 50 at the national level and many more that at the state level. According to the World Bank, the labor laws are “among the most restrictive and complex in the world.” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has identified the labor laws as an area in need of reform in order to make it easier to do business in India.
In terms of creating an educated workforce, there has been a push by the government to increase the number of people with primary education, and the literacy rate is now at two-thirds, which still lags behind China or Thailand. Less than 40% of teenagers are attending secondary schools. The government has also encouraged education in the scientific realm with the creation and funding of technical schools and institutions.
