Parliament Question: Employment elasticity of GDP Growth

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*2 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29TH JANUARY, 2026 EMPLOYMENT ELASTICITY OF GDP GROWTH *2. SHRI G.C. CHANDRASHEKHAR: WILL THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT BE PLEASED TO STATE: (a) whether Government has analysed the declining employment elasticity of GDP growth, in view of PLFS data indicating stagnation in regular salaried employment since 2019, including State-wise trends for Karnataka; and (b) whether any sector-wise employment benchmarks or job- linked growth targets have been adopted to address this divergence? ANSWER MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA) (a) & (b): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *2 DUE FOR REPLY ON 29.01.2026 BY SHRI G.C. CHANDRASHEKHAR, M.P. REGARDING “EMPLOYMENT ELASTICITY OF GDP GROWTH” (a)&(b): The data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted, by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment (including regular wage/salary workers) on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above in the country has increased from 46.8% in 2017-18 to 58.2% in 2023-24 in the country & from 49.1% to 55.2% in the State of Karnataka during the same period. Further, the percentage distribution of regular wage/salary workers on usual status have increased from 20.9% in 2022-23 to 21.7% in 2023-24 in the country. Further, more than 8.23 crore net subscribers have joined Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) between September 2017 and July 2025 indicating increase in employment and formalization of the job market. Also, more than 1.29 crore net subscribers have joined EPFO during the year 2024-25. Employment generation coupled with improving employability is a priority of Government and is a multi-stakeholder initiative. The various Ministries/ Departments of Government of India like Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Textile etc. are implementing different employment generation schemes/ programmes. The details of these schemes/ programmes may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes.Government is also implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India (including Karnataka) to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. Government is implementing Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Further, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in]. *****