MSMEs created 3.32 lakh net jobs in past 4 years: CII

A recent survey of over one lakh micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) shows that 332,394 net jobs were created over the past four years, registering an increase of 13.9 per cent over the employment base four years ago.

More significantly, the survey by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) indicates that 570,804 new jobs are likely to be created over the next one year, marking an increase of 21 per cent over the current employment base. 'Net jobs created' is defined as recruitment less exits.

CII undertook the largest ever MSME specific survey, covering 105,347 firms of varying sizes, across sectors and geographies to obtain a deeper understanding of the sector, particularly in relation to job creation.

The CII survey shows that micro enterprises were the largest job creators in the past four years and will continue to be so in the next three years. This holds true for both exporters and non-exporters.

The top job generating sectors were hospitality and tourism followed by textiles, apparel and metal products. Machinery parts along with transport and logistics were the next significant job creators.

Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana have been the largest job generators over the past four years. In case of exporters, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana emerge as the top three states.

"It is critical to undertake periodic analysis of the MSME jobs landscape as well as growth boosters. We recommend that the current survey be transformed into a regular exercise," the CII said.

MSMEs growth is pivotal to jobs creation. Government initiatives such as 2 per cent interest subvention scheme, the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System (TReDS) and enabling ease of doing business needs to be promoted to MSMEs who are not taking benefit of these initiatives, it said.

This will also entail handholding of MSMEs to help them benefit from these initiatives. Finally, it is also important to skill and reskill workforce at a quicker pace given the rapid changes in technology and business models, said CII.

To put the survey findings in context, the industry body mapped the jobs figures against publicly available macro-level data sourced from the Labour Bureau (for total workforce).

Given that the total workforce size according to the Labour Bureau is estimated at 45 crore (projected for 2017-18), the overall job additions work out to 1.35 crore to 1.49 crore per annum, the CII said.