NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant have questions about "veracity of the data" presented in the report.
NITI Aayog has said that a yet-to-be-released report that says the country's unemployment rate rose to a 45-year-high in 2017-18 is "not verified". NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the "veracity of the data is not known".
Kumar’s clarification came hours after the opposition attacked the government over a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report that was leaked to some parts of the media.
Speaking about the report, he said, “The government had not released the data (on jobs) as it is still being processed. When the data is ready we will release it.”
Kumar also clarified that it would not be correct to compare the data presented in that report with the data collected in 2011-12 because the data collection methods from both periods are different.
“We are using a computer-assisted personal interviewee in the new survey. It is not right to compare the two data sets. This data is not verified. It is not correct to use this report as final,” Kumar said.
Explaining Kumar’s point that the two reports can’t be compared, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said earlier the data collection and analysis was done in five years.
“We are doing it quarter by quarter. We are capturing incremental change. You need to have four quarters to see if there is an increase or decrease. You’ll need data from fifth quarter to be able to compare the data,” Kant said.
While saying that enough jobs were being created, Kant said, “There is a lack of good quality jobs.”
“The Niti Aayog analysis shows that we are creating 7-8 million jobs. Conventional estimates had suggested that there are 12 million new entrants per year. New estimates suggest that because of higher education and declining women’s labour population, the country needs 7 million jobs.”
The clarification came as the government faced opposition attacks over the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)'s periodic labour force survey (PLFS), withheld by the government but accessed by a business newspaper.
According to the report, the National Sample Survey Office conducted between July 2017-June 2018 showed the unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, the highest since 1972-73.
It also said that unemployment was higher in the urban areas (7.8 per cent) than in the rural areas (5.3 per cent). The report also says youth unemployment is at "astronomically high" levels of 13 to 27 per cent.
The report says more people are withdrawing from the workforce as the labour force participation rate is lower than in the previous years.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Rajiv Kumar")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}