Twelfth plan seen playing major role in employment growth

The Twelfth five-year plan (2012-17) with its emphasis on agro-food industries and infrastructure development is expected to give a big push to employment growth in the country.

The Eleventh five-year plan aimed at creating 58 million additional job opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour force on current daily status basis at an average rate of growth of 2.73 per cent per annum, raising the projected employment from about 402 million at the beginning of the Plan to about 460 million at the end of the Plan.

As against this, the country has achieved a mere 1 per cent annual growth in employment between 2004-05 and 2009-10, results of the latest rounds of quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by the union labour ministry showed.

According to the survey on employment and unemployment conducted by the National Sample Survey Office during 2004-05 and 2009-10, about 20 million additional job opportunities were created at an average rate of growth of around 1 per cent per year between 2004-05 and 2009-10.

The country's gross domestic product has grown at a compound growth rate of 8.6 per cent per annum during 2004-05 to 2009-10 whereas employment estimated on current daily status basis has grown at the rate of about 1 per cent during the same period.

The approach paper to the 12th Plan envisages an inclusive growth, which would create adequate livelihood opportunities and add to decent employment commensurate with the expectations of a growing labour force.