The Question is... Why Aren't There More Jobs in Maharashtra?
We’ve uncovered insights in the data and need your support to tell more stories about India's naukri crisis.
Dear Reader,
Do you remember the viral video that showed thousands of applicants teeming for a walk-in interview in Mumbai? That happened in July.
In June, Maharashtra Police received 17.76 lakh applications for 17,471 posts of constables. More recently, in August, Mumbai Police received over 5.8 lakh applications for 4,230 vacancies. That translates to at least 135 candidates vying for ONE job opening!
The question is... is this hypercompetition a sign of a severe dearth of jobs in Maharashtra? And if so, can the issue of joblessness swing voters as the state goes to polls?
I looked for answers to these questions in the data.
A pre-poll survey, conducted by MIT-SOG-Lokniti-CSDS, indicated that unemployment was indeed the top concern of one in every four voters in Maharashtra. To confirm this worry, I dug deeper into the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and Maharashtra's Economic Survey for the financial year 2023-24. And what I discovered isn't good news.
First of all, 10.8 percent of the state's young population – in the 15-29 years age group – is jobless. What is more worrying is that unemployment is the highest among graduates (11.3%), followed by postgraduates (8.3%), and those with diploma/certificate courses (7.0%). And this is despite Maharashtra having a fairly high literacy rate of 87.3 percent.
Second, 2.46 lakh state government job posts are still lying vacant. And government jobs provide employment to merely 10 percent of Maharashtra's workforce.
So, the question is... why is the government failing to create jobs?
Data showed that the Maharashtra government could not provide even half of the guaranteed 100 days of unskilled manual work to the state's rural poor through MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005). This is despite the expenditure incurred to create jobs doubling between FY23 and FY24.
Again, the number of jobs generated through the PM Employment Generation Programme has reduced to less than half – from 33,000 in FY22 to over 15,000 in FY 24.
Although the state government organised job fairs to provide jobs to skilled youth, only one in three received jobs in FY 2023-24. I explain all this and more in my detailed story HERE.
As part of The Quint's Naukri Crisis campaign, I have been aggressively telling stories on the lack of jobs for India's youth, the condition of workers, and the absence of regulation in India's soaring gig economy. Whether it's travelling on ground or combing through a repository of data, neither can happen without your support. Consider becoming a member* of The Quint and help us bring you authentic, data-backed, independent journalism.
We also want to hear from you – whether you're a recent graduate or an industry veteran affected by India's job crisis. Write to us at myreport@thequint.com or WhatsApp us at +919999008335 – and help us bring your story to the world.
Thank you,
AAKRITI HANDA
Special Correspondent
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