Labour force to cross 700 million by 2020: TeamLease Survey

Bangalore, Aug 15 (UNI) The labour force in India would touch 700 million by the year 2020, according to a survey by country's largest staffing company TeamLease.

The survey titled 'India Labour Report 2006', released here yesterday, said India was the only country in the world that was growing younger. The Country's working population, between 20 to 59 years stood, at 567 million in 2006 and it was estimated to rise 716 million by 2020. However, 170 million people would still remain unemployed by that year.

The Report under the head 'current state of labour markets' has revealed that since country's working age population in 2020 would be equal to the population when reforms started in 1991, projecting current labour market variables indicated staggering unemployment of 29 per cent by 2020 unless radical action was taken.

Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka were ranked as best in the overall labour ecosystem. Under labour demand Gujarat, Goa and Himachal Pradesh were ranked top three states, while in labour supply Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were ranked top three states. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab have better Labour Laws, according to the report.

The Report said there should be a shift of labour laws from the concurrent to the State list of the constitution to give greater authority and accountability to States.

TeamLease Services Chairman Manish Sabharwal said that ''States are losing an important opportunity by not creating differential labour ecosystems. Labour demand takes five years to change, labour supply probably 15 years, but labour laws could be changed in under a year. Unfortunately, Labour legislation has been hijacked by a small minority of organised labour that has positioned job preservation as a form of job creation,'' he said.

According to findings, out of the total 402 million workforce, only about seven per cent was working in the organised sector at present.

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