Jobs rise by 5 lakhs in second quarter

The government today said employment rose by about 5 lakhs in the second quarter after falling by 1.31 lakhs in the first quarter this fiscal. "... The employment has increased by about 5 lakhs during July-September 2009 over June 2009," Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

Meena was citing a report on the effect of the slowdown on jobs in India based on an employment survey by the Ministry of Labour and Employment that surveyed 2,873 units in 11 states.

All sectors, excluding leather, out of the eight major sectors--textiles, leather, metal, automobiles, gems & jewellery, transport, IT/ BPO and handloom/ powerloom--saw an increase in employment during this period, he said.

"During the previous quarter of April-June 2009, the employment had declined by 1.31 lakhs," he said, adding the government plans to continue with fiscal stimulus measures.

Stating that changes in the monetary policy based on the emerging situation are in the realms of the Reserve Bank, he said, "the government has already indicated that the fiscal stimulus measures would continue during the current fiscal-- 2009-10".

To obviate the negative impact of the global economic events on the Indian economy in 2008-09, a number of steps were taken, Meena said replying to a query on employment.

These included monetary measures by the RBI and the expansionary fiscal policy of the government, besides the enhancement in outlays to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), he said.