Impact of Liberalisation on Labour Market in India: What Do Facts from NSSO's 50th Round Show?

The objective of this paper is to highlight the favourable and unfavourable impact liberalisation of 1991 has had, in the short run, on the labour market in India. By use of simple before and after comparisons made possible by the publication of the 50th survey round of the NSSO on employment and unemployment in India, the exclusive impact of liberalisation is assessed. The demand for labour increased after liberalisation but the increase was not shared evenly in rural and urban India between men and women, and regular and casual workers. By and large, the demand for casual and intermittent work increased faster than for durable, regular work. The structure of employment moved away from the primary sector for rural men, but rural women lost in employment, real wages and the share of primary sector in their employment increased. Gender-based inequality in earnings of casual workers was reduced but that in the earnings of regular workers increased. Liberalisation has affected casual workers, particularly the women casual workers, more favourably than regular workers.