Delhi Paradox: Low Unemployment Rate But No Jobs for Women, Informal Workers?
As Delhi goes to polls, and BJP & AAP spar over purvanchali voters, we look at the job situation of migrant workers.
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“We don’t want any freebies. Our electricity bill is free, but inflation and taxes are killing us. Instead, give us decent-paying jobs with social security,” said Arvind Kumar, who works as a civil contractor in Delhi’s Burari.
Although Delhi boasts of one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the country— 4.6 percent as compared to India’s average of 10.2 percent in the June 2023 to July 2024 period — the situation on ground paints a very different picture.
For instance, construction workers that The Quint spoke to claimed that they received only 5-6 days of work in the last two months due to the ban on construction and demolition activities to keep the spiralling air pollution in check.
“It’s a double whammy for us. We have no work, no pay and no compensation. Loan lekar guzaara kar rahe hain,” mourned Arvind, who moved to Delhi from Vaishali in Bihar and is the sole breadwinner of a family of five.
As the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—vying for a third term —locks horns with an aggressive BJP, which has not formed a government in Delhi for over 27 years, we take a closer look at the jobs situation in the capital city and see if government data accurately reflects the unemployment scenario on the ground.
But First, What Does the Data Say?
Delhi has recorded a sharp drop in unemployment rate—from 6.3 percent in 2020-21 to 2.1 percent in 2023-24, data from its Economic Survey 2023-24 as well as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 shows.
Unemployment rate is defined as the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the total workforce. In Delhi, 2.1 percent of the total workforce in the 15 to 59 years was unemployed in 2023-24, which is lower than the national average of 3.5 percent.
As far as joblessness among youth (15-29 years age group) is concerned, Delhi has recorded an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in 2023-24, a drop from 6.1 percent in the previous year.
“Delhi is a multi-layered economy, where employment seekers will get a lot of alternatives to choose from. We can give credit to the Delhi government for doing better post-pandemic as compared to many states, including neighbours like Haryana and Punjab,” said Deepanshu Mohan, Professor of Economics and Dean, OP Jindal Global University and a Visiting Professor at London School of Economics and University of Oxford.
Watch: How Bad is Job Crisis in Haryana? Will Unemployment Impact Assembly Elections?
However, this data “does not adequately capture” those engaged in unorganised and informal work—such as daily wagers, domestic workers, construction workers, self-employed and gig workers—which form a significant chunk of Delhi’s workforce, Mohan caveated.
PLFS data shows that a little over half (56.1%) of Delhi’s workforce comprises the regular-waged, while 37.8% are self-employed and 6.1% are casual labour.
Informal Workers Are Scrambling For Jobs
“We are making the infrastructure of Delhi better but neither the state (AAP) nor the Central (BJP) government pays any attention to us,” lamented Rajeev Kumar, Vice President of the Delhi unit of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU).
Rajeev migrated from Bhagalpur in Bihar 17 years ago and has been working as a mason in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar.
“Lekin pravaasi mazdoor ki koi ginti nahi hoti. (But migrant workers are not accounted for),” Rajeev said.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS in 2023 indicates that over 70 percent of the migrants are from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. This would explain AAP and BJP sparring over purvanchali voters in the lead up to the elections as they exert influence on 15-20 of the 70 Assembly seats.
“BJP job kaatne waali sarkaar hai...first demonetisation hit us hard, then the pandemic-led lockdown rendered us jobless and without any money. We can never forget how we had to walk back hundreds of kilometres to our village in Bihar. And now inflation and taxes are burning a hole in our pocket,” said Rajeev, who earns Rs 600-800 for a day’s work.
Migrant workers walk to their native places, amid COVID-19.
(File Photo: PTI)
However, due to deteriorating air quality in Delhi over November-January (now, an annual affair) and a consequential ban on construction activities, workers claimed getting no more than ten days of work in these three months. This year, the Supreme Court mandated the Delhi government to provide a one-time financial aid of Rs 8,000 to construction workers affected by the ban.
“I haven’t received any money despite registering on the portal,” said 52-year-old Megh Singh, who came to Delhi from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh nearly 20 years ago. He now lives in GTB Nagar and works as a painter to support his family. Megh Singh makes Rs 800 for a day’s work.
The Delhi government reportedly provided this one-time compensation to 90,000 workers. The Delhi Building & Construction Workers Welfare Board has over 1.45 lakh workers registered as of today.
Screenshot from Website as on 19 January 2025
(Photo: Screenshot from Website as on 19 January 2025)
Stark Gender Gap in Job Creation
Now, let’s look at the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) to get a better understanding of Delhi’s labour market. LFPR is calculated as the number of people employed plus the number of people looking for work as a percentage of the total population. A high LFPR means a greater number of people engaging with the economy and vice versa.
In Delhi, LFPR among men stands at 54% (lower than the national average of 58.2%) while those for women is staggeringly low at 14.5% (lower than the national average of 31.7%).
“Job creation has been gendered, and this must be a focal point for government intervention. (Arvind) Kejriwal’s recent announcement of direct cash transfer of Rs 2,100 to Delhi’s women is implicit acceptance that there haven’t been enough jobs for women,” Mohan told The Quint.
Data also shows most men (71%) are involved in propriety and partnership, the proportion for women is lower (48%) in this sector with a significant female population (25%) engaged in domestic work.
Poonam, 45, who works as domestic help in Delhi’s Gautam Nagar area claimed that despite registering in May 2023 on the e-Shram portal—an initiative of the Union labour ministry to provide social security benefits to informal workers—she stopped receiving benefits just after three months.
“I received a cash transfer of Rs 1,500 from May to July 2023 but it stopped after that. Approaching the authorities after that was of no avail. We are even having to pay for atta, rice and sugar, despite being beneficiaries to PM Modi’s free ration scheme; and that too at the market price. Har cheez mein itni dhandhli hai...” she claimed.
What About Gig Workers Amid Rise in Informal Jobs?
Delhi’s combined LFPR stands at 46.4%, less than the national average of 60.1% in 2023-24, which indicates lesser participation of the workforce in the economy. On a closer look, data indicated a drop in the regular-waged, and an increase in the self-employed and casual labour over the years.
“A low LFPR combined with a low unemployment rate indicates more informalisation of the workforce, which is evident from the proportion of regular-salaried workers going down. This is consistent with national trends as well,” Mohan said.
According to 2023-24 Workindia report, an annual index representing the state of blue-collar workers in the Indian job market, Delhi emerged as the top city with a robust gig economy, followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru.
With NITI Aayog projecting India’s gig work force to increase from 77 lakh in 2020-21 to 2.35 crore in 2029-30, there is an increasing demand from app-based gig workers’ unions for a law to identify them as formal workers so that they can access social security benefits such as maternity leaves, health insurance, retirement funds, etc.
PLFS data shows worrying trend as far as the quality of jobs vis-a-vis social security is concerned:
Over 60% of the workers with no written job contract
Over 40% not eligible for paid leave
Nearly 56% recruited without any social security benefits such as Provident Fund (PF)/ gratuity/healthcare/maternity leaves, etc.
In October 2023, then Delhi chief minister Kejriwal promised a policy framework during a meeting with Gig Workers Association (GigWA). 15 months later, there is still no clarity.
“We held two rounds of meetings in December last year with AAP representatives and have been assured a legislation to safeguard gig workers’ rights. While registering on e-Shram portal is a good first step, a comprehensive set of measures is certainly needed,” said Nitesh Kumar Das, Organizing Secretary, GigWA, while speaking to The Quint. He asserted that GigWA will continue lobbying for formal recognition of gig workers.
Freebies or Jobs? What Delhi Needs
In a likely acknowledgment of Delhi’s informal workforce, months ahead of Delhi elections, Chief Minister Atishi hiked minimum wages—Rs 18,066 for unskilled, Rs 19,929 for semi-skilled, and Rs 21,917 for skilled workers—in the unorganised sector.
But would gig workers be included in this?
“Gig workers, such as delivery partners, are typically treated as independent contractors rather than traditional employees and are often paid on a delivery or task-based model rather than fixed wages. This structural difference limits their direct inclusion in such wage policies. From what I understand, there hasn't been a substantial effort to bring gig workers into the fold of this policy,” Das said.
Meanwhile, Mohan said that though AAP is one of the fewer political parties which addressed minimum wage compliance, especially when the Centre has completely bundled off price support (vis-a-vis farmers’ protest).
“When the government can accommodate a revenue deficit from Direct Benefit Transfer schemes (such as Rs 2,100 to women), it can use the same amount for creating MGNREGA-like work as it would increase consumption as well as demand, making the economy more robust,” Mohan explained.