Ground reality of unemployment in Delhi different from picture government data paints Premium

Unemployment in Delhi challenges government data, with workers struggling for jobs and students facing placement issues.

It is around 10 a.m. in the morning and Manoj Mandal, 38, and about 50 other people are still waiting for the day’s job at a labour chowk in Bhogal in central Delhi.

“Kaam down chal raha he (There is less work). It’s already 10 and now chances are less that anyone will come here to call us for work today,” Mr. Mandal said, as others around him nodded in agreement.

Even through the Central Government’s data shows that Delhi is among the top five states performing well in terms employment rates, interviews with workers, students, government officials, and experts paint a different story of unemployment and job insecurity.

The Central data showed that Delhi’s unemployment rate (UR) – almost halved in just three months from earlier this year and the state had the lowest unemployment in the country. But officials and experts told The Hindu this was not possible.

The latest annual report by the Central Government show that unemployment rate of Delhi increased slightly to 2.1% from 1.9%.

Actions by the state government to generate jobs is also next to nothing, amidst a long-standing power tussle between the elected AAP-led Delhi government and the Central Government-appointed Lieutenant Governor, which has stopped many projects in the national capital.

When asked about the distress on the ground, though Delhi is one of the better off states as per Government data, Arun Kumar, former Professor (Economics) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said, “There is distress of unemployment across the country. PLFS data includes unpaid work also whereas ILO definition of UR only considers paid work. So, the PLFS data does not accurately capture the state of unemployment.”