Gujarat tops job placement list

NEW DELHI: Gujarat has topped the list of 35 states and union territories in providing maximum number of job placements through employment exchanges, accounting for 5.50 lakh of the 8.30 lakh job offers facilitated by the government agency.

Labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge told Rajya Sabha in response to a question that in the three years — from 2007 to 2009 — Gujarat had managed to place 1,78,000, 2,17,000 and 1,53,000 workers, respectively, through employment exchanges.

None of the states were in the striking distance.
The second best, however, was Maharashtra that had managed to place nearly 8,000 in 2007; 11,000 in 2008 and 24,000 in 2009. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh were among other states in that order that had made some contribution along with Maharashtra.

An important agency before private enterprises replaced the public sector as the favoured employer, employment exchanges have lost their sheen in the post-liberalisation phase. They, however, still remain an important mechanism for lower-category government jobs.

What is surprising is that all these states had a long list of applicants, who had registered with the employment exchanges with different vocational capabilities.

Though Left-ruled West Bengal and Kerala were among the top five states that had highest number of people registered with employment exchanges, their placement records remained dismal.

In West Bengal, 64,00,000 were registered with employment exchange as on May 31, 2010 while the figure for Kerala — that was third on the list of highest unemployed — was 30,14,000. Tamil Nadu came second, with 55,65,000 unemployed.

Across the country, the total number of job seekers registered with employment exchanges as on May 31, 2010 were around 3.80 crore. Maharashtra, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Haryana were among the top 10 states with highest registered unemployed.

Gujarat’s contribution to providing employment is commendable as what placements we see through employment exchanges is only a fraction of the actual scenario. In many of the organised and unorganised sectors that constitute for most of the employments, job seekers approach directly avoiding the employment exchanges.

This also reflects in Gujarat per capita income, at $833 it is higher than the national average of $627 as per the 2005-06 data. In the past few years, the state has significantly added its manufacturing capability which alone accounts for highest employment.

Read more: Gujarat tops job placement list – India – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gujarat-tops-job-placement-list-/articleshow/6447984.cms#ixzz0yAdktrus