Poor jobs data loom over Modi’s 2019 poll bid in India

Subject

Job-creation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

Significance

Following his 2014 general election victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to create millions of jobs and modernise the labour market. However, jobs in eight key employment sectors increased by only 32,000 in the third quarter of 2016-17, marking five years of steady decline in the rate of employment growth.

Impacts

• India’s labour market is deeply distorted but no solutions are forthcoming.
• Youth unemployment risks violent protests, especially over public sector jobs reserved for marginalised groups.
• Patriarchal constraints will impede women’s participation in the paid workforce.