The Labour Bureau of the Ministry of Labour and Employment has admitted that there have been massive job losses during the first quarter of the financial year 2009-2010 (April-June 2009).

During the monsoon session of parliament the Minister of Labour tried to make out that employment was rising. However, figures released by the Bureau show that the Labour Minister as well the government of India are deliberately covering up the spectre of mass unemployment, by talking of “recovery” etc. In fact, it is quiet clear that even if there is any promise of growth it is at best a harbinger of jobless growth.

Unemployment estimates for the first quarter of the financial year show a total of 1.71 lakh job losses, and this was true across most sectors, according to a study by the Labour Bureau.

The textiles industry was worst hit, shedding 1.54 lakh jobs, followed by IT/BPO (34,000). The gems & jewellery sector reported 20,000 job losses. Overall employment across the eight sectors surveyed— including metals, leather, automobiles, transport and handloom/ powerloom— dipped by 1.31 lakh, the net effect of 2.49 lakh job losses versus creation of 1.17 lakh jobs. In actual fact, nearly two and a half lakh workers lost their jobs and were rendered unemployed and without any livelihood. Even among the 1.17 lakh jobs created, 50,000 were created in contract work, which again spells insecurity and totally unregulated working conditions. Overall, the net increase in contract-work employment was 40,000.

Exporting units remained badly hit. Across all sectors, employment in these units fell by a sharp 1.67 lakh. According to the survey, some sectors did see a recovery of sorts, though they preferred hiring contract workers rather than full-time workers. The handloom/powerloom sector created 49,000 new jobs, followed by automobiles (23,000) and leather (7,000).

Though employment numbers are typically released only once a year, in the Annual Survey of Industries, the Labour Bureau initiated quarterly employment surveys last year, to study the impact of the global slowdown on India. The first survey revealed 5 lakh job losses between October and December 2008, the first quarter after the worldwide economic meltdown.

The construction sector has been one of the worst hit. But the labour ministry’s attempts to quantify job losses in the sector through a separate survey have failed. According to a senior Labour Ministry official, as reported by the Financial Express, “The manner in which construction workers are employed is so complex that there is no employer to be identified on the ground. But using employment elasticity and the sector’s growth, they have concluded that at least 5 lakh jobs have been lost in construction alone.”

Indian labour statistics are woefully inadequate and outdated. It is perhaps for the first time, an attempt is being made by the Ministry of Labour to get some kind of assessment of the impact of the economic crisis on unemployment. The Labour Bureau, in its reports, has admitted that it had to select a few sectors which contributed maximum to the economy and chose a few states for samples, It is also known that except to a certain extent in the large scale industry, the record of the number of people employed as contract labour is extremely distorted. The estimates of the Ministry of Labour pertain basically to regular workers, who have lost their jobs.

PF withdrawals confirm job losses

According to officials in the Labour Ministry, the massive increase in withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund is another indication of closures, layoffs and job losses.

Withdrawal requests from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) between April and June touching a record 31.51 lakh, indicating large-scale layoffs as well as a severe cash crunch among workers. This is almost equal to the claims made for the entire financial year 2006-2007.

In 2008-09, EPFO received a record 98 lakh-plus withdrawal requests, most of them filed after September 2008. The EPFO covers 5% of India’s 400-million strong workforce and has close to 5 crore PF accounts.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce, Government of India has also been undertaking sample surveys relating to reduction in exports and resultant job losses in export-related industries. In the sample survey on job losses for export-related industries for August, 2008 to 16 January 2009, out of 402 units surveyed, 1,09,513 jobs were reported lost. Ministry of Commerce has also conducted another updated sample survey related to job losses (direct and indirect) for export related industries from August, 2008 to April, 2009 according to which in different export-oriented units, 1,34,593 jobs have been lost.

The figures released by the government on unemployment are literally but the tip of the iceberg, as they at best reflect employment of regular workers and that too in some sectors, and a few states. In our country, vast majority of workforce has no records, as to whether they are employed or unemployed. The crisis in the economy has hit the entire workforce massively, right from organized sector workers, to the vast masses of workers who are called unorganized sector workers.