Big update! India generates 60 crore jobs across 27 sectors in FY23, says RBI

RBI LEMS data: The results of a survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India revealed that India created over 600 million jobs across 27 sectors in fiscal 2023, refuting a report by a foreign bank that had raised concerns about India’s ability to create jobs.

RBI weighs in on job creation debate. (Photo credit: Reuters/GCSHutter/E+/Getty Images)

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India, in a major update, revealed that nearly 60 crore jobs were created across 27 sectors in India. Employment grew 3.31 per cent year-on-year in FY23 from 57.75 crore a year earlier, according to RBI KLEMS data.

What is KLEMS data?

KLEMS stands for the following categories:

K is for capital
L is for Work
E is for energy
M for material
S is for service

These focal points cover 27 sectors of the Indian economy. KLEMS aggregates data from government databases such as:

Which sectors generated the most jobs?

The following sectors generated the most jobs in the fiscal year ending 2023:

Agriculture
Forestry
Fishing

Collectively, these sectors created 25.3 crore jobs in FY23 as compared to 24.82 crore jobs in FY22, as per RBI’s KLEMS data. India created 4.7 crore jobs in FY24, up 6 per cent from FY23.

Implications of RBI employment data

The data assumes significance amid wrangling between the government and the opposition over job creation. The RBi report follows a Citigroup report that predicted that India is likely to struggle to create jobs despite a 7 per cent economic growth, as it will create only 80-90 lakh jobs as against the required 1.2 crore jobs that actually need to be created.

A labour ministry official dismissed the Citigroup report, citing data from the RBI and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFSS), saying an average of 2 million jobs were created annually between 2017-18 and 2021-22.