KOZHIKODE: Keralites are known for their obsession with government jobs. And when it comes to numbers, it is state capital Thiruvananthapuram that tops among districts, as per the latest data released by the labour department.
As per the data, 13.25% of Thiruvananthapuram’s 33.01 lakh population has registered with the employment exchange. At the same time, Malappuram, the most populous district, has just 4.87% people registered with the employment exchange, the least in the state.
The state’s average unemployment rate is 8.17%. The rate was calculated by estimating the ratio between the total population of the district and the number of people registered with district employment exchanges, the labour department said.
A V Jose, former director and honorary fellow of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation in Thiruvananthapuram, said those registered with the employment exchanges are people aspiring for a formal job.
“We can’t necessarily say they are unemployed. There may be people working in shopping malls, as sales staff in textile shops and the like who have still registered with the employment exchange. They aspire to get a formal job, which will earn them social security benefits such as health insurance, provident fund, pension and others,” Jose said.
As per the data, southern districts – Kollam (11.8%) and Alappuzha (10.42%) – were second and third, respectively, in employment exchange registrations. The population of Kollam is 26,35,375 of whom 3,11,069 are formal job seekers.
Of the 21,27,789 people in Alappuzha, 2,21,836 educated persons have registered with the employment exchange for a government job. Wayanad, having the lowest population of 8,17,420 in Kerala, is fourth in the list at 9.24%. It has 75,563 educated persons aspiring for a government job.
Meanwhile, 5.48%, or 1,38,403 people out of 25,23,003 in Kannur have registered in the employment exchange. In Kasargod, 72,619 people out of 13,07,375 (5,55%) have registered with the employment exchange “The least unemployment rate in Malappuram indicates the positive trend among people, mainly youths, of grabbing opportunities for self-employment without waiting for government jobs,” said Malappuram district employment officer Shylesh K.
(With inputs from Kochi)
Govt fiat
Government has again directed its offices to recruit personnel through employment exchange for posts not left to the PSC. The offices have been directed to send the list of selected candidates to the employment exchange for its approval. Appointment order should be handed only after getting its approval.