Full-time employment dips in India in 2012: Gallup

Among 140 countries in which the survey was conducted, India stands almost half-way at 64th position in this regard

The proportion of working people in India employed full-time  declined by three percentage points in 2012 compared with the previous year, according to a recent survey by US-based Gallup.

The payroll-to-population (P2P) rate — which measures percentage of population aged 15 or above employed for at least 30 hours a week — declined from 29 per cent in India in 2011 to 26 per cent in 2012. This means, 26 per cent of India’s total population had a full-time job in 2012.

Among the 140 countries where the survey was conducted, India’s position is 64.

Brazil and China surpassed India with P2P rates of 36 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively.

Among the emerging economies, South Africa was among the worst performers as only 17 per cent were employed full-time.

There was a decline witnessed in the global P2P rate as well as, which dipped to 26 per cent in 2012 from 27 per cent in 2011. “As many countries are still struggling to recover from the global recession, the decline in P2P in 2012 is an unfortunate reversal of the growth seen in 2010 and 2011,” Gallup said in a statement.

According to Gallup's findings, the P2P rate is highly correlated with the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of a country. “Wealthier countries are more likely to have larger percentages of their population working for an employer, while poorer countries tend to have larger percentages of the population working for themselves,” said the firm.

However, in India, despite a rise in GDP per capita, there was a decline in the P2P. The GDP per capita in the country grew from Rs 54,151 in 2010-11 to Rs 61,564 in 2011-12.

In south Asia, which includes India, 18 per cent of the employees were self-employed, while it was the highest at 28 per cent in south-east Asia, followed by East Asia (27 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (23 per cent).

According to recent data by the National Sample Survey Office, 52.2 per cent of the workforce in India was self-employed in 2011-12. This mostly includes low-level activities, although highly-paid professionals also come in this category.

“Developing countries must strive to create formal job opportunities with desirable working conditions, which will in turn reduce the need for informal subsistence jobs,” the report noted.