Growth and Structure of Workforce in India

The present article examines the trend in growth of workforce and the change in its structure in India during the last three decades using census data. The analysis indicates that there was a fast decelerating rate of growth in overall workforce, particularly females, between 2001 and 2011. But the work participation rate did not decline, if not increased, as the rate of growth in workforce was not less than that in population. Secondly, incremental workforce, especially the male, reduced to marginal workers category, whereas the high concentration of female in the category of marginal workers slightly reduced. Occupational distribution of workforce shows that cultivators were declining. Such a decline in agriculture was replaced by increasing agricultural labour. The study further shows that growth of workforce in non-agriculture was higher than that in agriculture. Growth of female workers engaged in non-agriculture was higher than their male counterparts. JEL Classification: J01, J08, J21, J82