Job seekers rise by 57 lakh annually

The government on Monday said registration of job seekers in employment exchanges across the country has increased at an average rate of 56.67 lakh per annum during the last ten years and the incremental requirement of workforce would touch 198.7 million by 2022.

In 2009, 56.69 lakh job seekers approached employment exchanges, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Harish Rawat, said in the Lok Sabha.

Rawat said a mission mode project under the national e-governance plan has been launched for modernisation of the exchanges keeping in mind their "significance".

He said the incremental requirement of workforce nationwide would touch 198.7 million by 2022 and they would be required in various sectors including auto and auto components industry, which will require 35.2 million workforce - the highest requirement out of all the sectors.

The health services industry would require 12.8 million workforce while the organised retail sector, travel and tourism industry and the transport and logistics warehousing sector would require labour workforce in the range of 17.2 to 17.7 million.

The ministry, which has launched a skilled development initiative in a large-scale to prepare a pool of skilled workforce in the country, also has drawn up plans to connect all its employment exchanges so as to help job seekers enroll in any of the 969 centres across the country, he said.