Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'More employment seekers and less jobs' that was published in Newsband

More employment seekers and less jobs
The number of people who annually reach working age are found to be more than the availability of jobs. The International Labour Organisation has forecasted that a few more millions are set to join the pool of the jobless during this year and the next. There is a big number of people facing vulnerable working conditions. The challenge for policymakers worldwide is to ensure that incomes do not fall below the levels of basic subsistence
The generation of employment has been slowly declining creating vast number of jobless youth working force. The industrialisation with latest technology has displaced manual labour with machine labor and advanced profitability to few oligarchs and business tycoons as reflected in world economic surveys. The alternative lies in promoting agriculture sector and allied industries which are labour - intensive and can boost food security and economic development as well. Only a paradigm shift in policy can cater to people's welfare.
Scholars are assuming that next decade will be fortunate in nature not only for emerging economies but also for the whole world because new opportunities will be emerged.
India has younger population which has reached enormous proportions, with annual "job-needing" youngsters who enter the market forming about 16 million to 18 million. Added to them, over 50% of the 500 million other able bodied working class are already in various struggle levels of eking out their existence in fits and starts. It is now fairly well understood that the so-called Globalization, which began in the early nineties and started its hegemonic entries into almost the entire world, has created more jobless than those who were benefited - although the population who benefited have had it all great, relegating a huge volume of other population into poverty levels. India, today, has about 450 million working class people who are in that condition, and the Government (whichever party is at the center) seem to care two hoots to solve this deadly problem of under-employment and un-employment. The answer to this dangerous trends that bring forth huge exoduses is Localization
There is a mismatch between the 'ready for job' population and the creation of jobs. Beyond wage earners and salaried class the number of people in vulnerable jobs are in hike and the global scenario in this regard is not good to reduce the percentage with creation of jobs with security. The global economic slow down and changes in the life style of people and policy of polity reduced the creation of jobs. For example China's shift from export led economy to consumption oriented concept led to loss of blue collar jobs. Trump wants to regain all the jobs US has lost on outsourcing which will create vulnerability for Indian jobs at US. Declining oil prices send thousands of workers jobless on loss of demand. These vagaries in job market is gaining momentum and the ILO must reduce the job market vagaries and reduce the mismatch between the job seekers and the creation of the same.

For a populous country as ours, the present employment strategies will not yield result and the number of educated unemployed will go on increasing. Gandhiji's stress on handicrafts will yield some results.

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