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Government jobs are drying up and have hit a three-year low both at the central and state government levels.
In the first four months of the current fiscal year, the average monthly hiring rate is about 50% of the year-ago period for central government services and 60% for state government jobs, according to official data reviewed by Mint.
The payroll data of the National Pension System (NPS), shows the biggest fall in new government jobs so far in FY21, indicating that not only the private sector, but even the government is cutting its hiring because of the adverse impact of covid-19 on the Indian economy. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the Indian economy contracted 24%. Against this backdrop, the government has instructed central departments and ministries to not create fresh position in the near term.
New subscriber additions in National Pension System (NPS) by central government employees showed growth of almost 9,900 per month in 2019-20. This was 9,200 in 2018-19 and 11,000 in 2017-18 (September-March 2017). In FY21, the average monthly growth was just 5,250. Average monthly additions in May-July was at 3,500. Fresh additions in the NPS subscriber base for central government workers point to new regular government job creations. The government started collecting structured payroll data beginning September 2017.
States and Union territories created an average of 26,144 jobs per month so far in 2020-21. If one considers data of June and July state government payroll additions was at 20,222 and 22,473, respectively.
When the average number of job additions in the first four months of 2020-21 is compared with the average of the past two fiscal years, the difference is significant. In 2018-19, 542,504 jobs were created, or a little more than 45,208 per month, according to data provided by the ministry of statistics. In 2019-20, states created 496,003 positions or 41,333 per month, according to the data.
The situation looks even more grim if one considers the white-collar job losses in the four months to August. Almost six million professionals, such as engineers, physicians, teachers, accountants and analysts, have lost their jobs between May and August, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said. “Government hiring is going to fall further,” said Prem Chand, general secretary, Indian Public Service Employees Federation. “Fresh hiring is very slow for government jobs and replacement hiring after superannuation of employees are not happening proportionately. This is a clear cost-cutting measure by the government,” he said.
The government departments both at the Union and state levels are either reducing posts or going for contract workers, said Chand. “At the central secretariat level, you can easily see a lot of low paid contract workers in recent times and even at the joint secretary and additional secretary support staff jobs are privately sourced.,” he said.
Departments such as the central public works department, telecom, ordinance factories, and railways, along with secretarial support service jobs are seeing a lot of reduction in government regular postings, he said.
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