On shaky ground

Mahesh Vyas is right in saying in his piece, “Volatility of the unemployment rate” (October 31), that there is greater accuracy in the statistics of the organised sector, which is more stable. The unorganised sector mostly meets temporary or seasonal requirements and is dependent on agriculture. The village industry and individual craftsmanship can’t be treated as an organised segment, as their functioning also depends on agriculture. Accordingly, there is migration of labour to ensure day-to-day affordability.

Cyclones, storms, earthquakes, floods and droughts displace unskilled labour. This is apart from death and incapacitation of the daily wage earner. They are compelled to migrate as the cost of rehabilitation is prohibitive. This explains the flux in the percentage of unemployment.

Literacy levels also affect chances of employment and contribute to fluctuating percentages of unemployment from week to week. The Central Goods and Services Act has no impact in this regard; demonetisation limited disbursal of wages, not the employment percentage.

Gopinath Nair  via email

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