Employment

Employment is central to development, because people work to earn a living and their work adds to the national income. This chapter explains who is a worker: anyone engaged in an economic activity that contributes to the gross domestic product, including the self-employed. It introduces the worker-population ratio, which shows the proportion of the population that is working, and compares it for rural and urban areas and for men and women. Women's participation is much lower than men's. You will study the status of workers as self-employed, regular salaried employees and casual wage labourers. About half of Indian workers are self-employed. The chapter examines the distribution of the workforce across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The primary sector still employs the largest share of workers. The chapter discusses 'jobless growth' and the growing casualisation and informalisation of the workforce. You will learn the difference between the formal and informal sectors, the types of unemployment (open, disguised and seasonal), and government measures such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.

Detailed Worksheet: Employment Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. Who is a worker? Give two examples of workers who are self-employed. (2 marks) 2. What is the worker-population ratio? (2 marks) 3. Distinguish between regular salaried employees and casual wage labourers. (2 marks) 4. What is jobless growth? (2 marks) 5. What is meant by informalisation of the workforce? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. In a village of 2,000 people, 700 are workers. Calculate the worker-population ratio. If 400 of the workers are men and the village has 1,050 men, calculate the worker-population ratio for men and for women. (3 marks) 7. In an illustrative year, India's workforce had 52% self-employed, 23% regular salaried and 25% casual wage labourers. If the workforce was 47 crore, calculate the number in each category. (3 marks) 8. A town's labour force is 50,000, of whom 46,500 are employed. Calculate the number unemployed and the unemployment rate. (3 marks) 9. In an illustrative workforce, the shares of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors changed from 60%, 16% and 24% to 44%, 25% and 31%. Calculate the change in each share and identify the fastest-growing sector of employment. (3 marks) 10. Only about 6% of India's workforce is in the formal sector. If the workforce is 47 crore, calculate the number of formal and informal workers. Why are informal workers more vulnerable? (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a pie chart showing the illustrative status of workers: self-employed 52%, regular salaried 23% and casual 25%. (4 marks) 12. Draw a bar diagram comparing the illustrative worker-population ratio for rural men 55%, rural women 18%, urban men 53% and urban women 14%. (3 marks) 13. Draw a flowchart showing the classification of unemployment into open, disguised and seasonal, with an example of each. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. 'The share of agriculture in employment is falling, but too slowly.' Explain why most workers still depend on agriculture and what policies can move them to other sectors. (5 marks) 15. Why is the worker-population ratio of women lower than that of men in India? Suggest measures to increase women's participation in the workforce. (5 marks) 16. Explain the reasons for growing casualisation and informalisation of the workforce in India. How has the government tried to protect informal workers? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Show the steps of all calculations. Data marked illustrative are for practice only.