Demand for work under MGNREGS drops for 10th consecutive month in August

Nearly 19 million individuals requested work under MGNREGS, showing a 17 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year

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The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) saw a continued decline in work demand in August, marking the 10th consecutive month of fewer people seeking employment, according to a report by The Economic Times, based on data from the Ministry of Rural Development.
 

The demand for jobs under MGNREGS, the government's flagship rural employment initiative, has been decreasing consistently, with August recording about 19 million people seeking work, down from 22.91 million in the same month the previous year.
 

Data compiled by the Ministry of Rural Development also showed that 16.1 million households were involved, reflecting a 16 per cent drop from last year. This reduction is largely attributed to improved economic conditions and favourable monsoon rains, which have lessened the need for unskilled labour.
 

Experts say the decline is due to abundant monsoon rains in August, prompting the usual migration of unskilled labourers to agricultural work during the kharif crop season, thereby reducing the demand for employment under MGNREGS.
 

In contrast to last year, when erratic rainfall led to a 19.5 per cent increase in MGNREGS job demand, this year's consistent and abundant rainfall, particularly since July, has resulted in a 7 per cent surplus during the June-September monsoon season, reducing the need for such jobs.
 

On a month-on-month basis, the number of people and households seeking work also declined, with decreases of 16.6 per cent and 14.9 per cent, respectively, in August compared to July.
 

Significantly fewer individuals from major beneficiary states sought work under MGNREGS in August, with demand falling by 79 per cent in Jharkhand, 41 per cent in Chhattisgarh, and 39 per cent in Madhya Pradesh.
 

Notably, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that India will continue to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world for the current and upcoming financial years, with growth rates expected to reach 7 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, more than double the global average.