Use job mapping index to ensure safety of migrants
Creation of jobs is a priority for the government. To plan for it more scientifically, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is developing an Occupational Shortage Index (OSI) to track demand and supply of both white- and blue-collar workers in each state.
The parameters will include the different categories of employment available, broken down by region. The index will also track changes in wage levels and highlight the shortage or excess of labour supply. Giving weights to various variables, a high OSI rank would indicate a labour shortage. A low rank, on the other hand, would indicate a labour surplus and poorer wages.
If the experiment takes off, this mapping of labour demand for particular occupations and regions will benefit all stakeholders. Entrepreneurs can use the data to set up units where talent is available; workers looking for jobs can take an informed decision based on where wages are on the rise.
Governments, too, can improve decision-making and develop information channels to guide workers, so that they get the best deal. The new initiative has to be seen in the context of rising youth unemployment. In the latest Periodic Labour Force survey, for the July 2023-June 2024 period, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 29 rose to 10.2 percent from 10 percent in 2022-23.
Even without a scientific guide, India has always had robust labour migration loosely regulated by demand and supply. For instance, Punjab has faced a shortage of farm hands for years and has been served by steady migration from Jharkhand and Odisha.
ome older surveys indicate inter-state migration was 9-10 million a year. The 2011 Census pegs the total number of internal migrants in the country at a staggering 139 million.
Though necessary to turn the wheels of the local economy, migrant workers face discrimination, wage exploitation and lack of welfare support. They often become targets of sons-of-the-soil agitations. Some 50,000-80,000 migrant workers fled Gujarat in 2018 after they were relentlessly attacked following the arrest of a migrant worker for allegedly raping a 14-year old girl.
Considering the size of the shifting populations and the problems they face, the government must also track these migratory groups to ensure welfare support and keep them from becoming victims of human trafficking. The laws on the subject are well spelt out. Close monitoring is what is needed.