Growth of Work Opportunities In India: 1983 – 1999-2000

Against the backdrop of concerns about the slow down in the growth of total work force in the 1990s (relative to the 1980s) and of “jobless growth”, this paper offers a more nuanced assessment of the growth of different types of employment opportunities. This is done through an explicit focus on employment quality -- by reference to location of workers in non-poor households -- rather than simply focusing on the change in the number of workers. Also, based on a fresh assessment of the DGE and T estimates and NSS-Survey based estimates of organised sector employment, the 1990s are shown to be a period of accelerated growth in the number of regular wage/salaried workers rather than of stagnation or decline in the growth of jobs. [Working Paper No.131]