IED CHAPTER – 8 EMPLOYMENT

Question 1.
Why is it important to study about working people?
Answer:
It is important to study about working people to:
(i) understand the quality and nature of employment in our country;
(ii) facilitate planning of our human resources; .
(iii) analyse the contribution of different industries and sectors towards
national income; and
(iv) address social issues such as exploitation of backward sections of the
society, child labour, etc.

Question 2.
Why are women employed in low paid work?
Answer:
Women are employed in low paid work due to the following reasons:
(i) There is division of labour between men and women due to historical
and cultural reasons.
(ii) Literacy rate and skill formation is low among women.

(iii) Legal protection of women employees is meager.

(iv) Most women find jobs in which there is no job security.
Gender →

Male Female Total

Sector ↓

Formal 24 6 30

Informal 310 133 443

Total 334 139 473

Basis of
Organised Sector Unorganised Sector
Comparison

This sector employs 10 or more This sector employs less than 10

Number of Workers
hired workers. hired workers.

Workers get monthly salary on Workers get wages on daily

Payment
regular basis. basis.

Workers get additional benefits

Workers do not get any additional
Additional Benefits such as leaves, medical benefits,
benefits.
provident fund, gratuity, etc.

The number of working hours is The number of working hours is

Working Hours
fixed. not fixed.

Job Security Workers enjoy job security. They Workers do not enjoy job

cannot be laid off as and when security. They can be laid off

the employer wants, There are anytime by the employer. No

 rules and regulations are followed
certain rules and regulations.
in this sector.

Out of 473 million workers in the country, about 30 million workers are
engaged in the formal sector and 443 million workers are engaged in
informal sector. Hence, workers in the formal sector constitutes only six
percent of the total workforce. Of these 30 million formal sector workers,
only 6 million, that is, only about 21 percent are women and 79 percent are
men. In the informal sector, female and male workers account for 31 and
69 percent of the workforce respectively.

Question 3.
Explain the employment of people in various industries and their status.
Answer:
(i) There has been substantial shift from agriculture to industries and
service sector. Although primary sector continues to remain the main
source of employment of workers over the last six decades, its share has
decreased from 74 percent in 1951 to 49 percent in 2012.

With the process of development in the country, the share of employment is

increasing in secondary and tertiary sectors. The share of industries has
increased from 11 to 24 percent and that of service sector has increased
from 15 to 27 percent during 1950-2012.

(ii) The changes in the distribution of workforce in different status over the
last four decades indicate that people have moved from self-employment
and regular salaried employment to casual wage work.

Question 4.
Compare the employment conditions prevailing in the organised and
unorganised sectors.
Answer:
Comparison between Organised Sector and Unorganised Sector

Question 5.
Workers are exploited in the unorganised sector. Do you agree with this
view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer:
Unorganised sector comprises of small and scattered units, which are
largely outside the control of the government. Workers in the unorganised
sector are often exploited because of the following reasons:

 No rules and regulations

 Irregular and low-paid jobs
 No provision for overtime, leaves, etc.
 No job security
 Social discrimination

Question 6.
What is meant by disguised unemployment? Explain giving an example.
Answer:
In disguised unemployment, more than required persons are engaged in a
job. People appear to be employed but they are actually unemployed. This
type of unemployment usually happens among family members engaged in
agricultural activity. Suppose there are 7 members in a family.

Although the work requires the service of only 4 people, all-the members of
a family find work on that agricultural plot. The output of the field will not
decline if 3 members are removed from the process. These 3 members are
disguisedly unemployed.

Question 7.
What is the difference between disguised unemployment and seasonal
unemployment?
Answer :
Following are the main points of difference between disguised and
seasonal unemployment:

Disguised Unemployment Seasonal Unemployment

1. In disguised unemployment, more than Seasonal unemployment takes place when

required persons are engaged in a job. people are not able to find jobs during som
 months of the year.

It is found both in rural as well as urban

2. It is mainly found in rural areas.
areas.

3. It is mostly found in agriculture. It is mostly found in agro-based industries.

Question 8.
What are the disadvantages of unemployment? Explain.
Answer:
The main disadvantages of unemployment are:
(i) Increase in Poverty: The main cause of poverty is unemployment.
People do not have enough money to support their family. This leads to the
situation of poverty.

(ii) Wastage of Resource: Human capital is an important economic

resource. Unemployment leads to wastage of manpower resource. People
who are an asset for the economy turn into a liability. This creates a feeling
of despair among the youth.

(iii) Increase in Dependent Population: Unemployment tends to increase

the economic overload. The dependence of the unemployed on the working
population increases.

Question 9.
What is unemployment? What are the most common types of
unemployment found in India?
Answer:
Unemployment is a situation in which the people who are willing to work at
the prevailing wages are unable to find jobs. The most common types of
unemployment found in India are:
(i) Seasonal Unemployment: This type of unemployment takes place when
people are not able to find jobs during some months of the year. The
situation of seasonal unemployment arises mainly in agricultural sector
people are busy during sowing, harvesting, weeding and threshing.
However, there are certain months in which they do not get much work.

(ii) Disguised Unemployment: In disguised unemployment, more than

required persons are engaged in a job. This type of unemployment usually
happens among family members engaged in agricultural activity.

Question 1.
What are the causes of informalisation of work force in India?
Answer:
The following are the causes of informalisation of work force in India:
(i) Close Down of the Enterprises: Many enterprises were incurring losses
during 1980’s and 90’s and hence, were closed down. This had driven a
large number of workers in informal sector. For example, in the early
1980’s, textile mills all over the country began to dose down.

In Mumbai, the mills closed rapidly. But in Ahmedabad. the close-down

process spread over 10 years due to strong trade unions. Approximately
80,000 permanent workers and ever 50,000 non-permanent workers lost
their jobs and were driven to the informal sector.

(ii) Losses Making Public Sector: Due to the losses incurred by public
sector enterprise, the Government of India either disinvests or closes down
these enterprises. This causes informalisation of the workforce. Increasing
Population: Employment generation in the formal sector fail to match the
needs of rapidly increasing population. As a result, people are forced to
take up casual jobs to earn a living.

Question 2.
How are the activities in the economy classified on the basis of
employment conditions?
Answer:
The activities in the economy on the basis of employment conditions are
classified as organised sector and unorganised sector.
(i) Organised Sector: It covers those enterprises or places of work where
the terms of employment are regular and therefore, people have assured
work. Its features are:

 Formal processes and procedures

 Proper rules and regulations
 Job security
 Fixed number of job hours, paid overtime for working more
 Get paid leave, payment during holidays
 Get provident fund, gratuity and pensions on retirement
 Safe working environment

(ii) Unorganised Sector: Unorganised sector comprises of small and

scattered units, which are largely outside the control of the government. Its
features are:

 No rules and regulations

 Irregular and low-paid jobs
 No provision for overtime, leaves, etc.
 No job security
 Social discrimination

Question 3.
What are the causes of unemployment in India?
Answer:
The following are major causes of unemployment in India:
(i) Increase in Population: There has been tremendous increase in the
population in India since : 1951. Consequently the number of working
population has also increased. Thus, increasing pressure of population has
accentuated the problem of unemployment.

(ii) Failure of Planning: Planning could not create as many jobs as the
number of jobs-seekers. Thus, faulty planning is also responsible for
unemployment.

(iii) Neglect ofAgriculture: Agriculture was not paid due attention during
different plans. Comparatively less expenditure was made on this sector.
As a result, agriculture could not develop fully.
(iv) Neglect of Small Scale and Cottage Industries: Small scale and cottage
industries are labour intensive. But these industries could not develop in
India appreciably. The plans laid more stress on capital intensive heavy,
basic and large industries.

(v) Slow Industrial Growth: Industrial growth rate has been very slow in
India due to vane reasons. It has increased urban unemployment.

(vi) Defective Education System: Our education system lays more

emphasis on ‘general’ education rather than ‘vocational’ one. It is not job-
oriented and this leads to rapid increase in white-collar unemployment.

Question 4.
Explain the various self-employment and wage generation programmes
initiated by the government to solve the problem of unemployment.
Answer:
The various self-employment and wage generation programmes initiated by
the government to solve the problem of unemployment are:
(i) Food for work Programme (FWP): FWP was launched in the 1970s for
the upliftment of the poor. Under this programme, foodgrains are distributed
against the wage work.

(ii) Prime Minister’s RozgarYojana (PMRY): This programme has been

implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, which aims
at creating self-employment opportunities in rural areas and small towns.
One can get financial assistance with bank loans to set up small
enterprises under this programme.

Under PMRY, the educated unemployed from low-income families in both

rural and urban areas can get financial help to set up any type of industry,
which generates employment.

(iii) Swarna Jayanti Shahari RozgarYojana (SJSRY): It aims at creating

employment opportunities, both self-employment and wage employment in
urban areas. Individuals were given financial assistance under self-
employment programmes.
(iv) Swarnajayanthi Gram SwarozgarYojana: Sawamajayanthi Gram
Swarozgar Yojana was launched in April 1999 and is the only self-
employment programme currently being implemented. It aims at promoting
micro enterprises and to bring the assisted poor families (Swarozgcris)
above the poverty line by organising them into Self-Help Groups through
the process of social mobilisation, training and capacity building and
provision of income generating assets through a mix of Bank Credit and
Government subsidy.

(v) Sampoorna Grameen RozgarYojana (SGRY): SGRY was launched in

September 2001. The schemes Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana and
Employment Assurance Scheme have been fully integrated with SGRY.
The objective of the scheme is to provide additional wage employment
along with food security, creation of durable community, social and
economic assets and infrastructure development in the rural areas. The
scheme envisages generation of 100 man-days of employment in a year.

(vi) National Food for Work Programme (NFWP): National Food for Work
Programme was launched on November 14, 2004 in 150 most backward
districts of the India, It is implemented as a 100 percent centrally sponsored
scheme and the food grains are provided to States free of cost. The
objective of the programme was to intensify the generation of
supplementary wage employment.

Employment: Growth, Informalisation and Other Issues Important Extra

Questions HOTS

Question 1.
Disguised unemployment is not prevalent in agriculture alone. Comment.
Answer:
Disguised unemployment is the characteristic feature of the Indian
agriculture. It is almost rampant for owing to heavy pressure of population,
joint family system and the lack of vocational avenues outside agriculture.
However, it is a phenomenon not confined in agriculture alone.

A deeper look into the functioning of public sector enterprises shows lots of
people sitting idle all the time. It is a point to the fact the more people are
employed than actually needed. Surely, it is a sign of disguised
unemployment.
Question 2.
Population of India is increasing at a much faster rate as compared to
employment opportunities.
Give some suggestions to rectify the situation.
Answer:
The following steps can be taken to increase employment opportunities:

 Increase in productivity
 Increase in production
 Educational reforms
 Help to self-employed persons
 Focus on vocational training

Question 3.
What are the causes of informalisation of work force in India?
Answer:
The following are the causes of informalisation of work force in India:
(i) Close Down of the Enterprises: Many enterprises were incurring losses
during 1980’s and 90’s and hence, were closed down. This had driven a
large number of workers in informal sector. For example, in the early
1980’s, textile mills all over the country began to dose down. In Mumbai,
the mills closed rapidly.

But in Ahmedabad. the close-down process spread over 10 years due to

strong trade unions. Approximately 80,000 permanent workers and ever
50,000 non-permanent workers lost their jobs and were driven to the
informal sector.

(ii) Losses Making Public Sector: Due to the losses incurred by public
sector enterprise, the Government of India either disinvests or closes down
these enterprises. This causes informalisation of the workforce. Increasing
Population: Employment generation in the formal sector fail to match the
needs of rapidly increasing population. As a result, people are forced to
take up casual jobs to earn a living.