A Just Jobs Index for India – How Do Indian States Fare in the Creation of Good Jobs?

22 June 2019
ABOUT THIS Report

A comprehensive, data-driven tool, the State-level JustJobs Index is meant to rally stakeholders around urgent action to address the nation's jobs crisis.

Though in different phases of development, Indian states are witnessing significant economic growth. However, the great Indian prospect of “achhe din” has been dampened by the sluggish job growth in the economy. The overall growth in the country is characterized by rising unemployment (especially among youth), low labor force participation especially among females, and a high rate of non-agriculture informality. This complicates the commonplace notion that with economic growth comes more jobs.

Recognizing a lack of real-time data on jobs in India, the Just Jobs Index (JJI) is a tool capturing the relative health of the labor market and providing a grip on complex issues faced by the Indian states. It collapses them into a single number allowing problem recognition and state-wise comparative performance. The State JJI (S-JJI) serves as a tool for regular and reliable analysis of information on the status of employment of Indian states, highlighting their differences, drivers of growth, impediments, their adaptability to labor market disruptions such as technology, urbanization and climate change, and also isolating and highlighting important place- and policy-specific characteristics of the job market in India.

This index will help zero in on state-specific enablers and barriers, re-align the quality and quantity of interventions, redefine the roles of the private and public sectors, and enhance policy making for better job creation across all states in India.