Growth and Structural Changes in Employment during Post-Reforms Period in India : Evidence from Different Rounds of NSS

The present paper aims at analyzing growth performance and structural transformations in respect of work-force in Indian economy during post-reforms period. A glaring finding of the study was that, between the time periods 2004-05 (61st round) and 2009-10 (66th round), there has been a decline in employment of females in the rural as well as urban areas, thereby calling for an urgent need to generate additional employment opportunities for females in the economy. Furthermore, the relative share of agriculture sector in total employment has been declining over time, but still majority of the population is employed in this low productivity sector. On the other hand, the share of manufacturing sector has remained, more or less, stagnant, while the share of services sector in total employment has been rapidly rising. However, for strengthening the economic base of our economy, secondary sector should have taken a perceptible lead over tertiary sector by laying more emphasis on agro-based and small scale industrialization, which will not only help in promoting industrial activities, but will also act as a catalyst for the shift of employment from low productive to high productive activities.