THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Factory jobs in Keralam fell by 23,632 in 2024-25, the steepest drop among states, according to the fact sheet of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) released recently, even as the number rose nationally by 7.2%. The gross value added (GVA) of the state’s factories, the worth of produce minus the cost of materials and fuel, also fell by 16.4% against a national growth of 9.6%.
In absolute numbers, employment in the state’s factories fell to 3,34,279 from 3,57,911 in 2023-24, a drop of 6.6%. TNIE’s analysis of the survey’s previous editions showed that factory employment in Keralam was still below the pre-Covid level.
The state’s factories employed 3,41,411 people in 2019-20. Between 2019-20 and 2024-25, factory employment across the country grew 26.3% whereas Keralam recorded a fall of 2.1 %. The state’s share in the country’s total factory employment fell from 2.05% to 1.59% during the period. However, the average earning of workers in Keralam, Rs 2.55 lakh a year, was higher than the national average of Rs 2.28 lakh.
“The decline in employment is worrying,” said Prof C Veeramani, director of the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram. “It is not due to problems in the petroleum sector, which employs a comparatively low number of people.
The decline would be in labour-intensive industries such as marine products, food processing, spices, coir and cashew. The fall could be due either to some factories closing down or to existing ones reducing jobs,” he said.
The GVA of the state’s factories came down from Rs 39,718 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 33,206 crore in 2024-25. Only Assam saw a bigger fall, 21.3%.
Keralam factories’ profits drop 38.8%
The YoY (Year-on-Year) increase was 16.5% in Tamil Nadu, 16.2% in Telangana, 7.9% in Andhra Pradesh and 7.1% in Karnataka. Keralam recorded a fall after two years of growth. The figures were Rs 27,098 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 39,718 crore in 2023-24.
While the combined profit of factories across the country increased 7.7 % in 2024-25, those in Keralam recorded a drop of 38.8%, from Rs 18,406 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 11,261 crore.
Petroleum refining accounts for a large part of Keralam’s factory sector.
The ASI 2024-25 factsheet does not give industry-wise figures for states.
In 2023-24, the 23 factories in the coke and refined petroleum products industry employed just 3,731 people, but accounted for Rs 14,070 crore, or 35.4% of the GVA of all factories in the state. Of the Rs 18,406 crore profit of all factories in 2023-24, this sector contributed Rs 11,340 crore.
Across India, GVA in the coke and refined petroleum products industry fell 43% in 2024-25.
Veeramani attributed the decline in the state’s GVA to the petroleum sector. “Globally, refinery margins fell by 24-25% in 2024-25,” he said. He said the state faced two problems: decline in employment and a narrow industrial base.
“Our industrial sector is heavily dependent on petroleum, which runs on imported crude and has few backward linkages. A robust food processing industry would have created many linkages, including agriculture, bringing more income to our farmers,” he said.
Shrinking base
The number of registered factories in the state has fallen every year since 2021-22, from 7,712 to 7,497. In the same period, India added 16,944 factories, taking the total to 2,66,931. The Annual Survey of Industries covers factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948, and certain other establishments.
Average earnings higher
Factory jobs in state drop 6.6% from 2023-24, against 7.2% rise nationally
Gross value added of state’s factories drops from J39,718 crore in 2023-24 to J33,206 crore in 2024-25
Average earning of workers in state, J2.55 lakh a year, higher than the national average of J2.28 lakh