The employment outlook in Odisha doesn't look very cheerful. Odisha could generate a mere 1 per cent of the total new jobs generated during the first three months of the current financial year for the youths in the age group of 18-25 years.
As per the data released by EPFO today, the State during the period of April -June has generated 14,463 new appointments as against 14.35 lakh new recruitments for the youths of the country in the age group of 18-25 years. As a consequence, Odisha figured at distant 20th and 16th, among the 22 major States and UTs, respectively, in job creation for youths in 18-25 years.
But the good news for the State is, as per EPFO data, the new jobs for youths in the age group of 18-25 years had seen a rise over the years.
Sample this: As per EPFO net payroll data for 18-25 years, Odisha had seen new enrolment totalling 34,011 in 2018-19, 38,944 in 2019-20 and 44,180 in 2020-21, respectively. The State's new recruitment over the years, however, remained a mere around 1 per cent of the total new recruitments done nationally.
This seems a big drag on as the youth population in the age group in Odisha has been around 3.5 per cent of the population in the age group of 18-25 years nationally. And the labour force (employed + unemployed) in the age group of 18-25 years in the State is around 2.8 per cent of the labour force nationally.
Odisha Not In Top-15 Employers
The EPFO net payroll data shows Odisha figuring at a distant 20th place in the category of 18-21 years, and the position improves to 16th in the age group of 22-25 years. Neighbouring West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh perched at a higher rank than Odisha.
In 2018, Odisha had been ahead in the generation of new jobs from states like Kerala. But now, Odisha has fallen behind. The State is only ahead of Jharkhand and Bihar, among the major states.
Top-10 Job Providers In Country
The top-10 major new jobs generators in the country respectively are: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan, the EPFO data reveals.
The Concern
Why the EPFO net payroll numbers are a concern for Odisha is, as per the CMIE and PLFS data, the population in the age-group of 18-25 yrs is estimated at a whopping around 34 lakh in the State, and the active job-seekers in the age-group are estimated at around 2.6lakh.
The statistics show acute joblessness scenario in State. Because, when over 2.6lakh are fervently searching for jobs, the job offer here counts to around 34-44k only.
Employment Exchange Data
According to the live registry maintained by the State Employment Exchanges, a whopping around 20 lakh (18 years Plus) have registered to find a suitable job in Odisha.
Since expert services like banking, finance, insurance and stocks etc have emerged as the major job generators in the country, the lack of such a diversified service sector in Odisha is proving a handicap for new employment opportunities in State.
Other major job churners in the country, as per EPFO data, are trading – commercial establishments, electrical, mechanical or general engineering products. Significantly, the engineering goods sector in Odisha also has a very poor footprint.