Soham Bhattacharya
Opportunities for paid work in general are in great threat under the present state of neoliberal order and the crisis has only worsened under the Modi regime. Various reports over the last decade have shown that unemployment figures have reached a record 40 years high in the last five years.
In this context, when we observe a plethora of ‘welfare scheme’ announcements in West Bengal, both in state and central government budgets, one must ask these questions: What happened to the workforce in the state during the last decade? Are these scheme announcements enough to sustain an otherwise unemployed and impoverished workforce?
The Size of the Unemployed Workforce in West Bengal
Taking the conventional age bracket of 15-59 years as a working age group, the size of the population grew manifold from 2011 when the present TMC government came to power. According to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2018-19, in West Bengal currently, the rate of unemployment has grown from 2.5% in 2011 to 4.4% in 2019. This increase in absolute numbers is 8.3 lakhs people in rural areas and 6.5 lakhs in urban areas. Significantly, this section has not received even at least one month’s work during 2018-19. More importantly, if we take into account a comparison with the state of employment during 2011, around 9 lakh jobs were lost in the last decade, only among the women in the state. Lip service about welfare schemes under different names might do wonders with advertisements, but there are strong concerns about lost jobs among the poor working class in the state.
Who Comprises the Unemployed Workforce in West Bengal?
The most unfortunate scenario emerges when we break down the composition of the unemployed workforce. Between the age of 15-59, those who are unemployed and actively seeking work in West Bengal, 76% belong to the age group of 18-30 years. What is supposed to be seen as a demographic dividend, or advantage of an economy, i.e. a relatively young workforce, are unemployed in the state.
| Level of Education | Share in Unemployed Workforce |
| Not Literate | 4.3 |
| Below Primary | 2.0 |
| Primary | 6.0 |
| Middle | 17.5 |
| Secondary | 11.8 |
| Higher Secondary | 14.7 |
| Diploma/Certificate | 5.4 |
| Graduate | 29.4 |
| Post Graduate | 9.0 |
| Total Unemployed | 100.0 |
The figures of unemployment present an unfortunate situation. We can observe that almost 39% of the total unemployed workforce are those who have completed higher education. In contemporary West Bengal, unemployment among the youth is increasing and the highly educated sections represent the highest share within the unemployed. These figures certainly is the representation of an alarming situation where in rural West Bengal, 12 out of 100 youths are unemployed, and in urban areas 10 out of 100 youths are unemployed.
What Happened to Public Sector Jobs?
During the last decade in the state’s employment scenario shows a significant decline in the share of public sector jobs among the total salaried and regular jobs for the working-age population. During 2011-12, in the rural areas, 37 per cent of all salaried jobs were in state owned enterprises; it was 31 per cent in the urban areas. However, by 2018-19 there was a sharp decline in employment in the public sector. In 2018-19, only 30 percent of the all rural salaried jobs and only 23 percent of urban salaried jobs remained in the government sector. If there is a continuous decline in labour absorption in the Public sector jobs, it is of no surprise that the workforce which remained unemployed after finishing higher education, would have to seek jobs outside the state.
Who is Outside the Labour Force in West Bengal?
Labour force in an economy comprises both those who are already working and those who are actively seeking work but currently unemployed. Within the working age group, around 60 per cent are outside the labour force in West Bengal. The crucial factor lies in the fact that, while 61 per-cent of the working age male population are within the labour force, whereas only 15 percent of females are in the labour force in the state during 2018-19. Many scholars in their earlier studies have cited educational attainment as a reason for the working age female to stay outside the labour force. However, the disparity in opportunities provided to females in terms of employability in the state is quite dismal.
| Reason | Male | Female |
| Education | 81 | 14 |
| Unpaid Domestic Work | 3 | 83 |
| Rentier, Pensioner | 5 | 2 |
| Disability | 7 | 0 |
| Others | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
Table 2 suggests that, out of 100 males who are not in the labour force in West Bengal, 80 are engaged in education, whereas only 14 females who are out of the labour force are engaged in education. The dismal distribution of unpaid work for females, shows 83 out of 100 females, who are out of the labour force are engaged in unpaid domestic work, caregiving etc. Which means two certain things. First, the low labour force participation of females is not because they are engaged in education, rather because they are engaged in domestic unpaid work, largely due to the patriarchal burdens. Second, most importantly, this means that in the last decade, the creation of jobs for female workers have been dampened in such fashion, that women are pushed out of the labour force and burdened with unpaid work. This low labour absorptive capacity of the economy, particularly for working age females, represents dire consequences in the state. This certainly cannot be mitigated by a mere cash transfer scheme, and needs serious policy intervention in terms of employment generation.
What happened to the Quality of the Existing Jobs?
The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) has identified an organised/formal work by three criteria: the availability of a written job contract, provision of paid leave and regular mode of payment, and availability of at least one social security benefit (Provident fund, gratuity, etc). Within the regular salaried jobs in West Bengal, a little over two-thirds of jobs in the urban sector and almost three-fourths of jobs in the rural sector are unorganized in nature during 2018-19. In the context of the ongoing pandemic due to COVID-19, with highly disrupted economic activity, even the most secure employment is under risk. It is obvious that the state government, by aiding and abetting the process of informalisation while diluting the strong presence of trade union movements in the state, have accentuated the casualisation of the workforce.
Reinstating the Need of the Hour: The Missing Employment Policy
Given the state of the crisis is quite grave and that West Bengal has remained a source of migrant workers in both skilled and unskilled jobs, a policy intervention is needed in order to bring the jobs back. The governments at the centre and state have bypassed the basic economic logic of employment and economic growth being related to each other. Therefore, instead of tokenism in the name of ‘schemes’, an employment policy must be brought, aiming to gainfully provide ‘decent jobs’ to the unemployed workforce, bringing the public sector employment to its earlier levels, and most importantly to provide jobs towards women and socially marginalised groups in the state.
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