India generates 46.7 million jobs in 2023-24 fiscal: RBI data

Kolkata: India has generated 46.7 million jobs in the fiscal 2023-24 taking the total jobs to 643.3 million, according to the first ever provisional numbers on productivity released by Reserve Bank of India.

The employment growth rate for the fastest growing major economy stood at 6% in FY24 against 3.2% in the preceding fiscal, the central bank said Monday in a report on measuring productivity on industry level.

RBI said that it has attempted a provisional estimate of productivity for the economy for the first time for FY24 based on available information. The report, however, is a routine release by it and so far used to share historical data.


There has been ongoing debate on whether India is facing a jobless growth which also became a major poll plank for the last parliamentary elections.

According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy last week, the unemployment rate rose to an eight-month high of 9.2% in June 2024, up from 7% in the previous month. It had earlier estimated that India's unemployment rate was 8% in FY24 against 7.7% in the preceding fiscal.

India recorded a 8.2% GDP growth in FY24, exceeding estimates while RBI projected GDP to grow by 7.2% in FY25.

According to a Reuters report, Citibank last week said that a 7% GDP growth would only create 8 million to 9 million jobs in India. "Even 7% GDP growth might not be able to fulfil the job requirement over the next decade," Citi's chief India economist Samiran Chakraborty said in a note.

RBI's provisional data is in sharp contrast to this view.

RBI used data from the government's National Accounts and Ministry of Labour to extrapolate the country's productivity and employment levels.

The database covers 27 industries comprising the entire Indian economy. The database also provides estimates at the broad sectoral levels such as agriculture, manufacturing and services at the all-India levels.