NSSO, labour bureau to continue with job surveys

Unlike the current practice of once in 5 years, the NSSO is to conduct these surveys every year.

The Labour Bureau and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) are likely to continue with their job surveys, but on a large scale and with different methodologies after a task force on employment submits its report to the government, according to sources. 
 

Meanwhile, the task force held a meeting with the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.  The task force was constituted under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to suggest an improved methodology of job surveys over the existing ones. 

While the Labour Bureau does a sample survey of enterprises, the NSSO conducts a survey on households. "Both surveys might continue," a source said. However, unlike the current practice of once in five years, the NSSO is to conduct these surveys every year.
 

The Labour Bureau surveys are very small. They cover only 30 million employees but the labour force in the country, including agriculture labourers, is over 470 million. 
 

The Labour Bureau has improved its quarterly survey of employment. Earlier, it used to take eight sectors -- textiles including apparel, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, information technology/business process outsourcing (IT/BPO), and handloom/powerloom. It still takes eight sectors but these are much wider -- manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, education, health, accommodation and restaurants, and IT/BPO. 

According to the latest survey, the rate of increase in employment in the eight key sectors fell in October-December 2016, with the addition of only 32,000 as against 77,000 workers in July-September 2016.